Born in Longmont, Colorado on 10 March 1919, environmentalist and social activist Walter (Walt) Taylor devoted a lifetime in the U.S.A. and Canada to the cultivation of peace with justice. During World War II he served in work camps as a conscientious objector to war, but ultimately went to prison for his stand against conscription. He turned away from graduate study in Physics to take a Master’s degree in Human Development at the University of Chicago.
With four children in their family, he and his wife Margaret (Peggy) Taylor (b. Lewiston, Maine, 7 August 1916) worked in a variety of social services, but were always seeking opportunities to encourage a fundamental movement toward peace with justice and sustainable environmental stewardship.
In the 1960s Philadelphia Quakers sent Walt as their response to a request from the Seneca Nation of Native Americans for help in defending the oldest active treaty in American history, the Treaty of Canandaigua which had been firmly negotiated with the Seneca Nation in 1794. In spite of a great nation-wide protest, that treaty was violated by the construction of the controversial Kinzua Dam (1961-1965) on the Allegheny River which flooded 10,000 acres of land and displaced 600 Seneca families out of their traditional territory. After moving to Summerland, British Columbia during the Vietnam War, Walt continued his active interest in the concerns of First Nations peoples and even worked for the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs in the 1970s.
Beginning in 1973 and running for several years thereafter, Walt directed an innovative project called “Imagine Penticton” through which the whole community of Penticton was invited to imagine itself the way it ought to be and to join Walt and his staff in bringing this collective vision to fruition. Taylor was also actively involved with the South Okanagan Civil Liberties Society, the South Okanagan Environmental Coalition and the Southern Interior Ecological Liaison – venues which allowed him to further his passionate advocacy for justice, peace and environmental sustainability.
His time in the Okanagan region of B.C., also provided Walt Taylor with the opportunity to become heavily involved with the British Columbia Man and Resources Programme – a 2 year public participation programme sponsored and organized by the Canadian Council of Resource and Environment Ministers (CCREM). The Man and Resources Programme originated in 1961 when natural resource ministers from across the country met at the “Resources for Tomorrow” Conference to discuss a natural resources policy for Canada. At that time, public interest in resource issues was low, so the main results from that conference were strictly governmental and technical. Man and Resources was concerned with all aspects of the environmental problem – social, economic, ecological – but it also sought to involve all Canadians in its investigation; therefore one of the fundamental goals of this Programme was to enlist citizen participation to discuss the whole question of development and the use of resources and how that should be balanced against protection of the environment. This mandate was to be accomplished through two phases: Phase I was undertaken in 1972 when community representatives from across the province came together locally, then regionally (Delta, B.C., Sept. 23-23, 1972) and finally nationally (Montebello, Q.C., Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 1972) to take on the task of problem identification. In 1973, Phase II was undertaken which required citizen participants to identify solutions and alternatives to the problems identified at the national conference at Montebello in 1972. The provincial conference was held in Naramata, B.C., September 20-23, 1973 while the national conference was held in Toronto, Nov.18-23, 1973.
In 1982 Walt and his family moved north to Smithers, B.C. where he continued to dedicate his life to grass-roots level, political and environmental activism in the Bulkley Valley - Telkwa - Smithers area. For the next eighteen years Walt Taylor, and his wife Peggy, were actively involved with the Northwest Study Conference Society, the Skeena Round Table on Sustainable Development, the Waging Peace Society, Project Ploughshares – Smithers, the Smithers Human Rights Society, the Gitksan-Carrier Tribal Council, the Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en Tribal Council, the Telkwa Educational Action Committee of Householders, the Bulkley Valley Anti-Poverty Group, and the Smithers Social Planning Committee, to name a few, through which they promoted a wide range of social rights causes including global peace, human rights and environmental sustainability to peoples, organizations and communities throughout Northern B.C.
Jim Mackenzie was born in 1905 in Forres, Scotland and emigrated in 1929. He worked on Frank Swannell's survey crews during the 1930, 1931, 1935 and 1937 field seasons. He took photographs and produced a photo album from the first three seasons. When Mackenzie left Victoria to establish a surveying practice in Dawson Creek after World War II he probably left these albums with Al Phipps.
Mackenzie died in Dawson Creek on March 22, 1963.
Alfred Hugh Phipps was born on 27 December 1899 in Victoria, British Columbia. As a teen, he dropped out of high school to enlist as a soldier in World War I; however as he was still underage at the time, he served his tour in Canada instead of being deployed overseas. After the War, Phipps worked in the woods as a logger and in 1928 he began his surveying career as a transit man for professional provincial surveyor Frank C. Swannell. Apparently Swannell found Phipps to be a capable surveying assistant, axe man, huntsman and fisherman of amiable character, and so took him on as an articled student (a three year apprenticeship). While Phipps became a good field surveyor, because he had dropped out of high school he just didn’t have the education required to pass has BCLS (BC Land Surveyor’s) exams. Despite possession of official credentials, Swannell continued to hire Phipps on various expeditions both in 1931 and in the late 1930’s.
Not much is known about Phipps other surveying activities before the Bedaux expedition in 1934, but according to Swannell, Phipps worked for an unidentified surveyor in 1933, and in early 1934 did surveys for a mining company in the southern Interior of British Columbia. In his correspondences to Jack Bocock, the organizer of the Bedaux Expedition in 1934, Swannell spoke highly of Phipps’ skills and this endorsement may have led to Phipps being hired as a third surveyor for the Bedaux Sub-Arctic Expedition in 1934. This was a cross-country expedition from Edmonton to the west coast of BC, traversing across vast tracts of wilderness via (then) state of the art Citroon vehicles. Four months later the expedition was cancelled as the crew was unable to reach their objective owing to problems related to weather, gumbo, and hoof rot. After the Pearl Harbor attack of World War II, the surveying information gathered through the failed Bedaux expedition of 1934 was used to construct a road through BC to Alaska.
On the Beduax Sub-Arctic Expedition, Al Phipps made a very positive impression on Charles Bedaux, the initiator of the Expedition. Upon the conclusion of the expedition Bedaux offered Phipps a position in the Bedaux Company in South Africa. On 4 June 1935, Phipps left for South Africa to assume his new position of Assistant to the Engineers and was thereafter engaged in various consulting projects for Witwatersrand Gold Mines. During his time in South Africa, Phipps met his future wife, Dorothy Summers, the daughter of a wealthy local family. A few years later, Phipps worked for Bedaux’s in Glasgow, Scotland and eventually became Bedaux’s chief supervisor for pottery businesses in England that employed the “Bedaux system”: a factory efficiency system invented by Charles Bedaux. Phipps left the Bedaux Company upon the expiry of his contract, and returned to Canada on 10 December 1936 with his South African born wife.
In 1937 Phipps again worked with the Frank Swannell’s crew surveying land tracts on Vancouver Island. Two years later, Phipps was also part of the crew which accompanied Swannell on his last surveying expedition into northern BC. Phipps Lake in British Columbia was named after A.H. Phipps by Frank Swannell in 1936; Swannell later remarked that the survey of Phipps Lake was done in a day from their camp around Lamprey Lake. It is of note that Swannell also set up a triangulation station on the bluff that he called Phipps’ Bluff.
With the advent of World War II, Phipps served as a captain in the Canadian Intelligence branch, again within Canadian boundaries. In his later years Phipps was employed by the British Columbia Civil Service from which he retired in 1964. Alfred H. Phipps died in August 1974 at the age of 74.
Canadian National Railway (CN) was incorporated as a Crown corporation on the 6th of June 1919. It is the longest railway system and the only transcontinental railway in North America. Canadian National originated from five railways: the Grand Trunk Railway, the Intercolonial Railway, the Canadian Northern Railway, the National Trans Continental Railway, and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (1917-1923). The conglomeration came about after a Royal Commission was called in 1917, which recommended the nationalization of all the railways except the Canadian Pacific Railway. During the depression of the 1930s there was a loss in traffic volume partially due to highway and air traffic increases, which led to a decrease in wages and employment. From the 1950s to 1960s, Canadian National began to modernize and converted to diesel locomotives and electronic signaling. The head office was also moved to Montréal. By 1989 Canadian National divested its non-rail business and abandoned thousands of kilometers of track, networks, and branch lines across the country to become a primarily freight rail company. In 1995 Canadian National was privatized and many of its shares purchased by American investors; however, the headquarters remained in Montréal to ensure that Canadian National remained a Canadian corporation.
The Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) was incorporated on February 27th, 1912. The PGE goal was to complete a rail line heading north from Vancouver to Prince George where it would connect with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR). PGE was privately owned until 1918 when it encountered financial difficulties and was taken over by the British Columbia Government as a Crown Corporation. By 1921 the railway had expanded to a point north of Quesnel but was still 80 miles south of the connection at Prince George. There were no large urban centers on the rail line during this time and it was primarily used for logging and mining operations from the British Columbia interior to Squamish. In 1949 PGE began to expand, and on November 1st, 1952 PGE completed a junction with Canadian National Railway in Prince George. On August 27th, 1956 PGE completed a line between Squamish and North Vancouver completing their original goal of a rail line from Vancouver to Prince George. In 1958 PGE reached Fort St. John and Dawson Creek to meet with the Alberta Railways. On September 10th, 1971 the largest construction that was undertaken opened a line between Fort St. John to Fort Nelson. In 1972 Pacific Great Eastern changed their name to British Columbia Railway (BCR).
BC Rail - known as the British Columbia Railway between 1972 and 1984 and as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) prior to 1972 - was a railway that operated in British Columbia between 1912 and 2004. It was a class II regional railway and the third-largest in Canada, operating 2,320 km of mainline track. Primarily a freight railway, BC Rail also offered passenger service, as well as some excursion services, most notably the Royal Hudson excursion train. Its operations were owned by the public as a crown corporation from 1918 until 2004, when the provincial government leased operations for 999 years to CN Rail.
The Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) was incorporated on February 27th, 1912. The primary goal of the PGE was to complete a rail line heading north from Vancouver to Prince George where it would connect with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR). The PGE was privately owned until 1918 when it encountered financial difficulties and was taken over by the British Columbia Government as a Crown Corporation. By 1921 the railway had expanded to a point north of Quesnel but was still 80 miles south of the connection at Prince George. There were no large urban centers on the rail line during this time and it was primarily used for logging and mining operations from British Columbia’s interior to Squamish. In 1949 the PGE began to expand and on November 1st, 1952 the PGE completed a junction with Canadian National Railway in Prince George. On August 27th, 1956 the PGE completed a line between Squamish and North Vancouver thus completing its original goal of a rail line from Vancouver to Prince George. In 1958 the PGE reached Fort St. John and Dawson Creek to meet with the Alberta Railways, and on September 10th, 1971 a rail line was largely extended to connect Fort St. John to Fort Nelson. In 1972 the Pacific Great Eastern changed its name to British Columbia Railway (BCR).
Canadian Pacific Railway was founded in 1881 to link Canada's populated Eastern centres with the vast potential of its relatively unpopulated West. On Nov. 7, 1885, the Eastern and Western portions of the Canadian Pacific Railway met at Craigellachie, B.C., where Donald A. Smith drove the last spike. The cost of construction almost broke the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, but within three years of the first transcontinental train leaving Montreal and Toronto for Port Moody on June 28, 1886, the railway's financial house was once again in order and CPR began paying dividends again. By 1889, the railway extended from coast to coast and the enterprise had expanded to include a wide range of related and unrelated businesses.
CPR had been involved in land settlement and land sales as early as September 1881. The company also erected telegraph lines right alongside the main transcontinental line, transmitting its first commercial telegram in 1882. The same year also marked CPR's entry into the express shipment business, with the acquisition of the Dominion Express Company. CPR started building some of its own steam locomotives as early as 1883 and would later build its own passenger cars, making it second only on the continent to the Pullman Company of Chicago, Illinois.
With the outbreak of World War II, the entire Canadian Pacific network was put at the disposal of the war effort. On land, CPR moved 307 million tons of freight and 86 million passengers, including 280,000 military personnel. At sea 22 CPR ships went to war where 12 of them were sunk. In the air, CPR pioneered the "Atlantic Bridge" – a massive undertaking that saw the transatlantic ferrying of bombers from Canada to Britain.
In the 1950s, CPR chief Norris R. Crump repatriated the company, putting a majority of shares back in the hands of Canadian stockholders. He also presided over complete dieselization of the company's fleet of locomotives and managed a huge expansion into non-transportation sectors, setting up Canadian Pacific Investments in 1962.
Today, CPR's 14,000-mile network extends from the Port of Vancouver in the Canada's West to The Port of Montreal in Canada's East, and to the U.S. industrial centers of Chicago, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, New York City and Buffalo.
Fyfe Lake Sawmill, also referred to as Fyfe Lake Fir, operated at Fyfe Lake, 32 km Southwest of Prince George near West Lake Provincial Park, during the 1950s. The lumber company was owned and operated by the Bachand Family, primarily Henri Bachand, and produced lumber for domestic sale. The sawmill closed sometime in the early 1960s and many families, who had developed a small community at Fyfe Lake, moved into Prince George and the surrounding area.
R.A. Harlow was born in Brewer, Maine on March 22, 1889 and died in Kelowna, BC on July 4, 1978 at 89 years of age. At the time of his death, Harlow was a retired roadmaster for CNR.
R.A. Harlow was a member of the surveying party for the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) Railway c.1911 and later worked on the Pacific Great Eastern (PGE) Railway as a Resident Engineer. While with the PGE, he was part of the engineering party which, on April 7, 1914, set the finish point stake and measured the required distance to the starting points for the two track-layer crews (East vs. West) who would race to the finish line. The West end crew cut and placed the last rail in place on the line after which PGE President E.J. Chamberlain drove in the last spike. After this historic driving in of the “last spike” on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway one mile east of Fort Fraser, R.A. Harlow was then commissioned to take a small can of white paint and a brush and inscribe the following notation onto the flange of the 11ft. last rail: “Point of Completion April 7th, 1914”. This marked piece of rail was later taken up, shipped to Winnipeg and sliced into quarter-inch-thick pieces which were polished, suitably engraved and distributed among railway officers as paper-weights. One of these commemorative pieces is at the Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum. Aside from his involvement with the driving in of the “last spike”, R. A. Harlow was also intrinsically involved with the arrival of the first PGE train into Prince George from Squamish in 1952.
Adam Hartley Zimmerman, O.C., B.A., F.C.A. (1927 - 2016 ) was born in Toronto. From 1930 to 1941 he lived with his family in Youngstown and Niagara Falls, New York while his father worked with the Moore Corporation as a mining engineer. Adam moved back to Ontario to complete junior high school and attended Upper Canada College from 1938-40, Ridley College from 1940-44, the Royal Canadian Naval College 1944-46, and Trinity College, University of Toronto, 1946-50. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Arts with a major in Philosophy in 1950. He also served six years in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve rising to the ranks of lieutenant.
After graduation and a brief term with Proctor Gamble, Zimmerman decided to join Clarkson Gordon (now Ernst & Young), as a student-in-accounts from 1950-54; received his CA and worked as a Chartered Accountant (1956) and Audit Supervisor, 1956-58. Mr. Zimerman then joined Noranda Inc. first serving as an Assistant Comptroller at Noranda Mines (1958-61), and then Comptroller (1961-1966). He subsequently became Vice President and Comptroller (1966-1974), Executive Vice President (1974-1982), President and CEO (1982-87), Vice Chairman of Noranda Inc. (1987-1992), as well as CEO, Noranda Forest Inc. (1987-1991), Chairman (1987-1993), and Director (1987-1994), as well as Chairman (1983-1990) and Vice Chairman (1990-1993) of MacMillan Bloedel after it was acquired by Noranda Forests Inc. Zimmerman also served as an independent director of Algoma Steel and as a foreign director at Royal Dutch Paper Mills (when MB was a dominant shareholder). Zimmerman retired from Noranda Inc. in 1994.
Mr. Zimmerman has served on over 40 private and public sector boards throughout his career including directorships on the following Northwood Pulp and Timber Ltd.; Confederation Life Insurance Co.; The Toronto Dominion Bank; Battery Technologies Inc.; Economic Investment Trust; Maple Leaf Foods Inc.; The Pittston Co.; Southam Inc; and Hydro One (2002- ). He has had had many professional affiliations during his career including with: C.D. Howe Institute (Former Chairman & Dir.); Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (Fellow); Canadian Pulp & Paper Association (former Chairman); Canadian Forest Industries Council (former Chairman); University of Toronto, Faculty of Forestry (Advisory Board.); The Hospital for Sick Children (Honorary Trustee); The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation (Director); Roy Thomson Hall (Director); World Wildlife Fund Canada (Executive Committee); Zeta Psi; York Club; Toronto Golf Club; Craigleith Ski Club; Madawaska Club.
Publications: Who’s in Charge Here, Anyway?: reflections from a life in business, (Don Mills, Ontario: Stoddart; Distributed in Canada by General Distribution Services), 1997.
HONOURS: Distinguished Business Alumni Award, Univ. of Toronto, 1992; LL.D. (Hon), Royal Roads Military College; D.S.L., Trinity University, Toronto. Member of the University of Toronto, Faculty of Forestry; a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario; Past Chairman, Canadian American Committee; and board positions with the Mining Association of Canada; Canadian Forest Industries Council; Canadian Pulp and Paper Association and with Zeta Psi.
Arthur Hagarty Holland was born in Coburg, Ontario, on August 6, 1875. His father was Henry F. Holland, a Solicitor, and his mother was Selvia E. Holland (nee Fraser) and he attended public school, collegiate, and Victoria College in Coburg. In 1892, he went to Bridgeport Connecticut, where he apprenticed in Electrical Engineering. He returned home in 1895 and the following year he moved west to work as rodman with the Canadian Pacific Railway survey in British Columbia. By 1900, he was in Vancouver working as a chainman and in 1904 he entered into articles with Noel Humphrys, BCLS, CE, and became British Columbia Land Surveyor #14 in 1907.
From 1909 to 1911 Holland mainly surveyed for a land company associated with the Grand Trunk Railway. In the fall of 1910 he surveyed in an area northeast of Prince George but the exact location and why he was there are unknown; but there are some interesting photographs from there. In 1911, he surveyed in and around Fort Fraser and in 1912 he was in the Cariboo. He took several photos this latter year but unfortunately they are small and many are unlabeled. In 1914 and 1915 Holland surveyed east of Prince George and there are some newspaper articles about his work there. Historian Jay Sherwood said: “The 1913 photos and survey are definitely the highlight of Holland's early career and would make a great re-photography project.”
In February 1916, Holland went overseas and served with the Royal Canadian Engineers and later with the Railway Troops, gaining a commission as Lieutenant. After returning from overseas in 1919, he resumed his survey work for the Provincial Government until 1922 in the Prince George area and later in the Similkameen area. In his 1919 report to the Surveyor General, he reported on the excellent forage crops on the Stuart River with one exception to one pre-emption wherein he said: “… whose only production came from an illicit still.”
He suffered from a stroke in 1947 and retired from private practice. He never did recover from the stroke and eventually died in his 80th year on September 21, 1954.
Noranda Sales Corporation Ltd. was responsible for marketing the metals and minerals from Noranda's own operations, its associated companies and 25 other Canadian companies. The products sold included copper, zinc, molybdenum, lead, silver, gold, selenium, tellurium, fluorspar, cadmium, bismuth, sulphuric acid, phosphate fertilizers, potash, and copper sulphate. These sales were conducted internationally.
In 1974, the total value of its transactions amounted to about $1.5 billion from 23 products in 45 countries. The company had a 50% interest in Rudolf Wolff and Co., a charter member and the largest metal broker at the time on the London Metal Exchange.
Source: Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 49.
Noranda Metal Industries was the successor to Noranda Copper and Brass and Noranda Copper Mills. It produced copper and copper-based alloy products in the form of sheet, strip, rod and tube in three plants across Canada. Its principle markets were the automobile industry and the house construction industry. The company consumed significant quantities of copper and lesser amounts of other metals such as zinc. In 1974, it reported that in excess of 54,000 tons of metal were processed.
In addition to its operations in Canada, Noranda Metal Industries owned two plants in the United States, one of which closed circa 1975, and another which had an interest in a mill in Colombia. In an effort to reduce its dependence on the highly cyclical copper and brass business, Noranda Metal Industries constructed a $23.5 million plant at Arnprior, Ontario to produce zirconium alloy sheathing and pressure tubes for use in nuclear reactors. The plant was built in anticipation of a rapidly-growing requirement for those products as Canadian utilities, particularly Ontario Hydro, would be accelerating their nuclear power construction programmes. Zirconium tubes were sold directly to utilities for use in conducting steam from the reactors, and to fuel cell manufacturers such as General Electric and Westinghouse Electric.
Source: Source: Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. pp. 56-57.
Canada Wire and Cable Company Ltd. was one of the largest manufacturers of electrical wire and cable in Canada.
Noranda Mines' entry into manufacturing occurred when it purchased a substantial interest in Canada Wire and Cable Company, Ltd. in 1930. This happened when Canada Wire decided to build a copper rod mill in Montreal adjacent to Noranda's new copper refinery. This mill was an important outlet for Noranda's copper production at the time.
Canada Wire then grew into the company's most important manufacturing enterprise, and several other interests were developed out of it. Since 1950, Canada Wire's growth occurred through a combination of new plant construction and acquisitions. Canada Wire operated over 11 plants and 7 warehouses across Canada.
In additional to its substantial growth in Canada, starting in 1961 Canada Wire began to make foreign investments. These usually involved the company providing financial and technical assistance in return for a minority interest. Canada Wire started with investments in Central and South America, and later held interests in ten different countries.
Canada Wire also had a fertilizer division at Belledune, New Brunswick. This plant, with a capacity of 220,000 tons per year of diammonium phosphate, was acquired through the refinancing of Brunswick Mining and Smelting. The principal raw materials were sulphuric acid, which was obtained from Brunswick, and phosphate rock which was brought from Florida.
Besides its operating divisions, Canada Wire also had investments in several companies primarily involved in research and development activities.
Source: Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 14-15, 54-55.
Wire Rope Industries Ltd. (WRI) stemmed from Noranda Mines' interest in Canada Wire. In 1953 a wire rope division had been formed. In 1963, in order to broaden its base and acquire expertise, this interest was amalgamated with those of Bridon Ltd. to form WRI. Bridon took a 60% interest, Canada Wire 40%. Early in 1975, to provide the funds for the purchase of another plant in the United States, Noranda made an additional investment in WRI and its sister company Bridon-American Corporation to raise its holdings to 51.4% in both companies.
Both WRI and Bridon-American Corporation manufacture steel wire rope. WRI was the largest such manufacturer in Canada, while Bridon-American was the fourth largest in the United States. In 1982, WRI acquired one of its U.K.-controlled competitors, Martin-Black.
A subsidiary of WRI, Gourock Industries Ltd., manufactured synthetic rope and netting at a plant near Montreal.
Source: Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 14-15, 58.
B.C. Chemicals was established in 1966 in Prince George, BC to produce sodium chlorate for the pulp and paper industry and tall oil for soap manufacturers. BC Chemicals was owned 50% by Northwood Pulp and 50% by Canfor. At 1976, B.C. Chemicals operated two 20,000 tons per year plants.
In 2003, Canfor Corp. sold its BC Chemicals business for $117.3-million (U.S.) to a subsidiary of Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund. Canfor agreed to purchase most of the sodium chlorate produced by BC Chemicals for 10 years and pay for the processing of soap skimmings from its own pulpmills.
Sources:
Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 20, 66.
British Columbia Forest Products Limited (BCFP) was a forestry company that operated from 1946 to 1986 in British Columbia. BCFP expanded to include timber production, pulp and paper, veneer, plywood and transportation operations. For many years, it was considered to be the second largest forest company operating in British Columbia.
In January 1969, Noranda and Mead made a joint offer to acquire control of British Columbia Forest Products (BCFP). Mead already held an interest in this company and together the two companies had previously begun accumulating shares in the market. Noranda made a public offer to acquire 400,000 share (10.8%) of British Columbia Forest Products. The price was to one-half a share of Noranda plus $22.50 in cash. On the day prior to the announcement, the closing share prices of Noranda and BCFP were $35 and $31.25 respectively. This meant the offer was equivalent to $40 per BCFP share, a 28% premium.
At the time of the offer, Noranda and Mead each owned directly 427,700 share (11.5%). In addition, through Brunswick Pulp and Paper Company, a U.S. company, Mead also had a 50% interest in 1,000,000 shares. Noranda further announced that, upon completion of the offer, its holdings and those of Mead would be equalized. Following the offer, a voting trust agreement representing the combined holdings of the companies was made in favour of Northwood Pulp.
At the time of purchase, BCFP was contemplating a major expansion project at Mackenzie. This was later approved and production of a new pulp mill began early in 1973.
BCFP was purchased in 1987 by Fletcher Challenge Limited of New Zealand and merged with BC company Crown Forest Industries. Fletcher Challenge Canada Limited was thereby established with a sharpened focus on pulp and paper. In 2000, Norwegian paper company Norske Skog purchased all of Fletcher Challenge’s pulp and paper assets and the company name changed to Norske Skog Canada Limited. The size of the company doubled in 2001 with the acquisition of Pacifica Papers and the merged operation assumed the name NorskeCanada. In 2005 the business was renamed Catalyst Paper.
Sources:
Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 19-20, 90-92.
Bulkley Valley Pulp and Timber was established in 1963 to pursue the construction of a pulp mill. In 1966 they obtained a Pulp Harvesting License, covering 40,000 square miles of timber.
The mill was sold in 1968 to Bowater-Bathhurst. Construction of what was to be one of Canada's largest integrated forest product complex began in 1969 four miles west of Houston. In 1972, Northwood Pulp bought control of Bulkley Valley Forest Industries from Consolidated-Bathurst Ltd. and the Bowater Corporation Ltd, which were incurring serious losses due to operational problems at its sawmill.
Northwood trimmed excesses that were contributing to the operation's troubles and production improved almost overnight. Northwood recognized the long-term and stable wood supply in the area and concentrated on developing the sawmill aspect of the complex.
The Northwood mill was taken over by Canadian Forest Products in late 1999 and became known as the Canfor mill.
Sources:
Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 20.
Fraser Companies Ltd. was a pulp, paper and lumber producer with operations in New Brunswick and Maine.
In April 1974, Noranda, through its subsidiary Northwood Mills, made a successful public offer to acquire 51% of the shares of Fraser Companies, Ltd.
After this acquisition, Fraser Inc. modernized and extended its the bisulphite plant (1976-1979), renovated its the paperboard mill (1988), and the installed high pressure steam pipelines linking the Edmundston pulp mill to Fraser Paper of Madawaska, Maine (1981-1982). The goal of these improvements was to increase production, reduce costs, conform to the new environment protection standards, and an increased ability to compete on the North American markets.
In addition to the Edmundston and Madawaska mills, Fraser Inc. owned mills in Atholville, Kedgwick, Plaster Rock and Thorold, Ontario. The company managed more than 1.8 millions acres of woodland concessions.
In May 1987, Fraser Inc. was amalgamated into Noranda Forest Inc.
Sources:
Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 94-95.
http://www.toucherdubois.ca/tdb/result_item.php?item=6632&lang=en
• 1864 Purchase by James Maclaren of the sawmill located on the west side of the Lièvre River, from the Baxter Bowman Estate.
• 1876 Maclaren receives the Award of Excellence at the Philadelphia World's Fair for the products displayed at the event.
• 1885 Opening of a new warehouse at Mont-Laurier.
• 1889 Founded by James Maclaren and James G. Ross, The North Pacific Lumber Company starts up a sawmill at Barnett, British Columbia.
• 1892 James Maclaren, founder of Maclaren, dies, leaving behind "The Estate of James Maclaren".
• 1893 Maclaren receives the Award of Excellence of the Chicago World's Fair for the products displayed at the event.
• 1894 Founding of the "Albert Maclaren Electric Light Company".
• 1895 Incorporation of "THE JAMES MACLAREN CO. LTD.", June 28th.
• 1900 First meeting of the Board of Directors of "THE JAMES MACLAREN CO. LTD.". James Maclaren's five sons, David, Alexander, John, James Barnet and Albert bought the estate, the sawmills, the properties and the woodland concessions.
• 1901 Purchase by the Company of the "Ross Bros." sawmill, located on the east side of the Lièvre River at Buckingham.
• 1901-02 Construction and start-up of a mechanical pulp mill with a daily production capacity of 60 tons.
• 1903 Purchase of the hydraulic rights owned by Sir Edward Andrew Stuart downstream from Buckingham.
• 1906 Opening of a new log piling depot, south of the Buckingham Roman Catholic Cemetery, along present Hwy 309, between Masson and Buckingham.
• 1907 Modernization of the sawmill located on the east side of the river in Buckingham.
• 1911 Purchase of the "Lièvre River Telephone Co.".
• 1912 Increase in the production of mechanical pulp to 90 tons per day,
• 1913 Shutdown of the Barnett sawmill in B. C.
• 1913 Purchase of the 100 sq. mi. Sharples woodland concessions along the Lièvre River.
• 1913 Construction of a retaining dyke and log slide to bypass High Falls on the Lièvre River.
• 1922 The sawmill on the west side of the river at Buckingham is demolished to make way for a new mill (Head Works and Pulpwood).
• 1928-30 Construction of a newsprint mill with a production capacity of 350 tons per day and a chemical pulp mill at Masson.
• 1928-30 Renovation and expansion of the mechanical pulp mill capable of producing 300 tons per day at Buckingham.
• 1928-30 The mechanical pulp was carried from Buckingham to the Masson plant via a pipeline located in a north-south axis between Georges Street and the river. The 4-foot logs used to make chemical pulp were floated down a log slide from Buckingham to Masson. Both systems spanned a distance of three miles.
• 1928-30 Construction of a dam and hydro-electric generating station at High Falls, on the Lièvre as well as the construction of a dam and hydro-electric generating station at Masson.
• 1941 Construction of the Mitchinamekus dam.
• 1954 Construction of the Kiamika dam.
• 1956-59 Construction of a mechanical pulp mill at Masson.
• 1957 Construction of a hydro-electric generating station at Dufferin Falls, on the Lièvre at Buckingham.
• 1959 Shutdown of the mechanical pulp mill at Buckingham.
• 1959 Construction of a debarking and slashing mill at Poupore, upstream from Buckingham, on the Lièvre.
• 1964 Purchase of the Kraft pulp mill and other installations from the Singer Company at Thurso.
• 1965 Purchase of "Canadian Hardwood Limited", "Buckingham Lumber Ltd." and "Quebec Hardwood Limited".
• 1968 Sale of the affiliate Company "Lièvre River Telephone Company" to Télébec .
• 1970 Purchase of the Allaire sawmill at Notre-Dame-du-Laus.
• 1974 Purchase of 50 % of Sogefor Ltd’s assets in Lac-des-Îles.
• 1979 Installation of solar heating panels at the Masson plant.
• 1980 Acquisition of the Maclaren Company by Noranda Inc.
• 1981 Modernization of the bisulfite plant at the Masson newsprint plant, allowing the recovery of 80 percent rather than 50 percent of fibbers, and a reduction of suspended solids in the water returned to the river.
• 1983 Modernization of $61 million at the Kraft pulp mill in Thurso, comprising of the installation of a new recovery boiler and a precipitator.
• 1985 Construction and installation of a new newsprint machine with a total capacity of production of 750 metric tons per day.
• 1988 Increase of production capacity at the Kraft pulp mill in Thurso: from 365 tons to 580 tons per day. Cost of the project: $175 million.
• 1988 Modernization of the corporate office of the Company at Masson.
• 1988 Announcement of the construction of a clarifier at a cost of $7 million at the newsprint mill.
• 1988 Announcement of a $27 million expansion project of the Masson newsprint plant to increase production from 180,000 to 209,000 metric tons par year.
• 1990 Purchase of Normick-Perron.
• 1990 Modernisation and expansion at the Kraft Pulp Mill in Thurso.
• 1991 Announcement of the start-up of a newsprint deinking plant at Cap-de-la-Madeleine, jointly with Cascades and Donohue.
• 1993 Introduction of recycled pulp in the newsprint manufacturing process at the Masson plant
• 1993 The Kraft pulp division celebrates its 35th anniversary with the theme "35 years of efficiency and improvement... and counting"
• 1993 Logging operations on the Lièvre River are abandoned and a new system for log conversion and storage is introduced at the newsprint mill at a cost of $ 3.8 million
• 1994 Announcement of a $70 million investment in water treatment plants at Maclaren plants both in Masson and Thurso.
• 1994 With the end of logging operations on the Lièvre River, the 64-year old log slide used to float the logs from Buckingham to the Masson plant is now obsolete and consequently dismantled.
• 1994 Investment of $44 million for the modernization of the wood yard at the Kraft pulp mill in Thurso resulting in a pulp of superior quality.
• 1994 The Normick-Perron group, until now under the Maclaren umbrella, will come under the authority of Norbord, another division of Noranda Forest.
• 1995 In conformity with its environmental policy and the optimization of its resources, Maclaren announces that 80 tons a day of solid waste from the Masson newsprint plant will be turned into compost.
• 1995 Maclaren celebrates its 100th anniversary of incorporation and adopts a new corporate symbol.
• 1997 Noranda Forest, which later became Nexfor surprised everybody by announcing the sale of its newsprint mills in Masson.
• 1998 Noranda Forest finally finds a buyer for it's Masson newsprint mill, Papier Mason Ltée
• 1999 Nexfor sell it’s Hydro-Electric operations to Great Lakes Hydro in Trust,the Maclaren Hydro Division becomes a subsidiary of Great Lakes Power.
• 2000 On the 7th of January, Nexfor, a Toronto firm, announces the sale of its Kraft Division in Thurso, thus becoming part of its Fraser Paper subsidiary.
Source: André Joyce http://maclaren.iquebec.com
Created in 1912, the Ministry of Forests and Range, then known as the Department of Lands, recommended strong research programs towards further development of the forest industry in British Columbia. In 1923, research activities were implemented, and at that time, Assistant Chief Forester, Bob St. Clair, recommended the development of forest experiment stations. In 1924, the Aleza Lake Experiment Station opened east of Prince George, BC, where different research projects began, focusing on soil types and trees. The objectives of the Experiment Station were related to forest management, particularly growth and mortality of white spruce and balsam, soils, and spatial planning. By 1930, the Research Division was the most active throughout Canada. However, due to significant cutbacks during the Depression years, the loss of key figures occurred; many of whom were central to the success of the Research Division, such as Percy M. Barr, who headed the Division. After 38 years of operation, the Aleza Lake Experiment Station was formally closed in 1963 due to budget restrictions, and all remaining buildings were removed or destroyed. However, now re-named as the Aleza Lake Forest Reserve, the Department of Lands and Forests transferred the Reserve to the Prince George Forest District for a ten-year period. After this timeframe expired, no further review was given and the Aleza Lake Forest Reserve was considered abandoned until 1981 when some permanent sample plots were found and re-measured. Through their diligence, John Revel, and Harry Coates, both employees of the BC Forest Service at the time, re-measured these plots knowing the significance of past experiments conducted at the Research Forest. Coates had also retained the original data from the permanent sample plots. Coates and Revel were both key figures in having the Research Forest re-opened because of their knowledge of previous experiments conducted before the Experiment Station was closed. In 1984, by Order-In-Council, the Aleza Lake Forest Reserve was amalgamated with the Purden Forest Reserve. In the late 1980s, there was a push for the Research Forest to be re-opened because of its potential for forest management research and demonstration. As a result, the Aleza Lake Steering Committee was formed in 1990, consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Forests, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and Northwood Pulp and Timber Limited. In 1992, the Research Forest was reopened with a management and working plan in place and was officially renamed the Aleza Lake Research Forest, and in 2001, the forest became the fourth university research forest in British Columbia. The Aleza Lake Research Forest is now managed by the Aleza Lake Research Forest Society, a partnership between the University of Northern British Columbia, University of British Columbia, one delegated representative from the BC Ministry of Forests and Range, Prince George Regional office, and a delegated representative alternating between the BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, Prince George office. Today, the central mandate of the Research Forest is to provide multidisciplinary programs focusing on partial cut harvest systems, biological diversity, climate change, and environmental monitoring in small forest tenures.
Northwood Mills was Noranda's first foray into the forestry industry. Northwood Mills was resurrected from National Forest Products when it was purchased by Noranda in April 1961 (Zimmerman p. 33). National Forest Products was in receivership and had 6 sawmills in the Okanagan Valley (Summerland Box Company, Tulameen Forest Products, and the Osoyoos and Oliver mills) and in Prince George (Upper Fraser Mills and Sinclair Spruce Mills) (Zimmerman p. 31). The Prince George mills were larger and more successful, making Prince George the centre of Noranda's forest investment. Included in the purchase of National Forest Products was the harvesting quota for the sawmills and a 3 million acre pulp-harvesting area (pre-approved for a pulp mill) that had been created by the provincial forestry minister, Ray Williston (Zimmerman p. 31). Dick Porritt was named the first president and CEO of Northwood Mills (Zimmerman p. 34).
An agreement between Noranda Mines and the Mead Corporation dated April 24, 1964 provided for the formation of a new company called Northwood Pulp. The capital stock of this new company was divided evenly between Northwood Mills Ltd. and Canamead Inc. (later named Forest Kraft Company). Northwood Pulp purchased from Northwood Mills all the outstanding stock of two of Northwood Mills' wholly-owned subsidiaries: Upper Fraser and Sinclair Spruce Mills. Northwood Mills would provide knowledge and experience with respect to sawmills. Mead would provide knowledge and experience with respect to the engineering and design of pulpmills. Northwood Mills was Northwood Pulp's exclusive agent for soliciting and servicing sales of logs, lumber and other sawmill products globally.
At 1976, Northwood Mills continued to operate four sawmills in the Okanagan region of British Columbia with the capacity to produce approximately 200 million board feet of lumber per year, principally western white spruce. It had a building materials division which operated a lumber brokerage and wholesale building materials business through warehouses across Canada. Early in 1975, it acquired Airscrew-Weyroc, which was then renamed Northwood Panelboard Ltd., with a 145,000 tons per year particle board plant in Chatham, New Brunswick.
Between 1964 and 1985, Northwood Mills purchased holdings in other subsidiaries, including Fraser Inc., W.H. Miller Co Ltd., James Maclaren Industries, Lynn Stevedoring Co. Ltd., MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., McBride Lumber & Building Supplies Ltd., Northwood Properties, and Northwood Panelboard Ltd (Stats Can).
Northwood Mills' Sales Division marketed its own production as well as that for Northwood Pulp and Timber and other non-affiliated producers. Over 80% of the sales were to North America.
Sources:
Zimmerman, Adam. Who’s in Charge Here, Anyway?: Reflections from a Life in Business, (Don Mills, Ontario: Stoddart; Distributed in Canada by General Distribution Services), 1997.
Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration, Noranda Mines Limited: A Corporate Background Report. 1976. p. 64.
Statistics Canada. Inter-corporate Ownership Directory, 1975, 1982, 1985, 1987.
The Aleza Lake Research Forest is a 9000 hectare outdoor research facility and working forest 60 kilometres east of Prince George. The research forest was first established in 1924 and has an ongoing research and forest management legacy that approaches 100 years. Today, the forest is co-operatively managed by UNBC, the BC government, and industry partners, through the non-profit Aleza Lake Research Forest Society.
The McGregor Model Forest Association (MMFA) was established in 1992 by the Government of Canada under the Canadian Forest Service’s Model Forest Program which was established across the country to examine and test principals of sustainable forest management. The MMFA operated successfully for over 15 years to support research, development of integrated forest management models, forest education and facilitation of collaborative decision-making. The Association’s approximately 50 members included communities, First Nations, industry, government and non-government representatives, as well as individual scientists and practitioners. The MMFA was an active participant in the Canadian and International Model Forest Networks, and also carried out projects in Russia on behalf of the Canadian International Development Agency. The Model Forest Program concluded in 2007, and was replaced by the Forest Communities Program. This new program was intended to facilitate the development and sharing of knowledge, tools and practices to empower forest-based communities to participate in informed decision-making on the forest land base, allowing communities to sustain and grow forest resource benefits while capitalizing on emerging forest-based opportunities. During this changeover, many of the existing Model Forests continued their operations under this new program, including the MMFA, while others continued their operations through partner and other funding sources, and some closed their doors. In October 2007, MMFA was combined with the Integrated Resource Management Partnership of Northern British Columbia (the “IRM Partnership”) into the Resources North Association - a new society whose aim it was to strengthen the previous relationship between the groups and to capitalize on their synergies.
The Columbia Cellulose Company, Limited was established under the name Port Edward Development Company, Limited in 1946 by the Celanese Corporation of America to produce high alpha wood pulp. The name was changed to the Port Edward Cellulose Company, Limited in 1947 and was finally changed to the present name in 1948. The first mill was constructed at Prince Rupert after the company was granted Tree Farm Licence (TFL) No. 1 in 1948. Celgar Development Company (more commonly known as Celgar Limited), a subsidiary of Columbia Cellulose, purchased three sawmill operations in the Arrow Lakes region at Nakusp and Castlegar in the early 1950s. The sawmills at Castlegar were transformed into an updated sawmill, a kraft mill, and a pulp mill. Columbia Cellulose was granted TFL No. 23 in July, 1955 and Nakusp was the headquarters for the woods operations in the interior with the Arrow Lakes system and tributary rivers providing waterways for booming and towing to the mills at Castlegar. The Columbia Cellulose Company added Prince Rupert Construction Limited (incorporated 1954) as a subsidiary in 1958 along with Skeena Logging Equipment Limited that same year. More mills in the interior were opened and in 1964 Columbia Cellulose began working with Svenka Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, a large Swedish manufacturer of forest products in the province, to build Skeena Kraft Limited. Skeena Kraft Limited was granted TFL No. 40 and Skeena Kraft headquartered its operations in Terrace. In 1965, Columbia Cellulose bought Calum Lumber Limited in Prince Rupert and acquired Columbia Pulp Sales Limited within the next two years. The declining Columbia Cellulose Company was taken over by the government of British Columbia in 1973 and was the basis for a new company: Canadian Cellulose Company, Limited. The name was changed again in 1981 to BC Timber Ltd.
Bridget Moran (née Drugan) (September 1, 1923-August 21, 1999) was a prominent social activist, social worker, writer and mentor who spent most of her adult life in British Columbia. She was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, and shortly after her birth the Drugan family emigrated to Success, Saskatchewan, where Bridget spent her formative years. She attended Normal School in Saskatchewan and taught school in rural Saskatchewan until 1944 when she enlisted in the Women's Royal Canadian Service. After her discharge from the Navy in 1946, Bridget entered academic studies at the University of Toronto, where she received an Honours B.A. in Philosophy and English and was the recipient of a gold medal upon graduation. She began work on a Master's Degree in History in 1950, however she soon realized it would be impossible to continue as the federal Department of Veterans' Affairs refused to provide her with financial support on the grounds that they found no women teaching in history departments in Canada.
In 1951 Moran decided to immigrate to British Columbia where she began a career as a social worker; first in welfare offices in Haney, Salmon Arm and Vernon, and then in 1954 in Prince George where she took a position as District Supervisor of Welfare Services for a large section of the Central Interior of BC. For the following ten years Moran worked as a social worker based out of Prince George attending to the welfare service needs of BC’s Central Interior population. However, Moran’s career with the public service came to a very public end when she was suspended from her position in 1964 after she wrote an open letter in a Vancouver newspaper criticizing Premier W.A.C. Bennett’s Social Credit government for what she saw as gross neglect in addressing the needs of child welfare in the province. Although Moran eventually won reinstatement after a two year battle, she was told there would be no work available for her in the BC Ministry of Social Services. She continued her career in social work; first, for the Prince George Regional Hospital, and later with the University of Victoria Social Work Department as a practicum instructor for social work students in Prince George. In 1977 she practiced social work with the Prince George School District, where she remained for twelve years before retiring in 1989.
After Moran’s retirement from the Prince George School District, she pursued her ‘second career’ as a writer. In 1988 she wrote Sai’k’uz Ts’eke: Stoney Creek Woman: The Story of Mary John (1988) based on extensive oral histories that Moran conducted with Mary John about life on the Stoney Creek reserve. Moran’s second book Judgment at Stoney Creek: Sai’k’uz Ne ba na huz’ya, (1990) is based on her account of the inquest into the death of Coreen Thomas and provides an in-depth analysis of tenuous white-native relations in rural BC in the 1970s. Moran’s next book, A Little Rebellion (1992) provides an auto-biographical account of her public dispute with the Bennett government. The book Justa: A First Nations Leader, Dakelhne Butsowhudilhzulh’un (1994) is based on extensive oral interviews Moran conducted with Tl’azt’en Nation member, Justa Monk, who transformed his life and was elected Tribal Chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council. Moran was commissioned by the Elizabeth Fry Society to write the case history of “Theresa” a battered woman, for the book Don’t Bring Me Flowers (1992). Her last book Prince George Remembered from Bridget Moran (1996) provides a series of excerpts of oral history interviews that Moran conducted in the late 1950s with white settlers providing memories of their arrival in Prince George c.1911-c.1920.
Rustad Bros. and Co. Ltd. was a large sawmill and planermill that was started operation in 1947. Jim Rustad was the general manager and president of the sawmill. Jim sold the business to Northwood in 1991 (later bought by Canfor) and operated until 2009.
Bea was born in North Vancouver in 1908. She married Garvin Dezell and had two children. The family moved to Williams Lake and then settled in Prince George in 1946. The family owned a construction contracting company. She very involved in the family business and in the Prince George community. Bea Dezell died in 2014 at 105.
Garvin Dezell moved to Prince George in 1946 with his wife Bea Dezell and their two children. Garvin served as Mayor of Prince George from 1950-1953, and 1960-1969. During this period, the creation of three new pulp mills led the city's population to increase from 4,000 to 30,000 people. He and Bea owned a construction contracting company with Garvin's father James Nelson called J N Dezell & Son. Garvin died in 1972.
Jim Rustad was the general manager and president of Rustad Bros. and Co. Ltd., a large sawmill and planermill that was started by his father and uncle in 1947.
The FHABC was formed on March 29, 1982 in Vancouver at a meeting attended by people from many backgrounds and disciplines.The purpose and objectives of the association are to promote awareness of, appreciation for, and preservation of the forest history of British Columbia.The association assumes a promotional and coordinating role, and does not collect archival material, but rather, encourages the assembly, cataloguing, and deposition of such material in the appropriate local, regional, provincial, or federal archival facilities. The FHABC has an annual general meeting and publishes a newsletter up to three times a year.
The British Columbia Forest History Newsletter, in production for over 30 years, predates the association and traces its origins to a meeting organized by the Forest History Society, then of Santa Cruz, California, and held at the University of British Columbia on April 27, 1981. When the FHABC came into being the next spring, the newsletter then became its official organ.