The provincial government has allocated nearly 1.2 million cubic meters of timber to One Sky Forest Products, which will allow them to begin building a new oriented strand board (OSB) mill in Prince Albert in 2025.
One Sky chairman Brian Fehr joined Premier Scott Moe, Mayor Greg Dionne, and Indigenous Forestry Investments (IFI) board chair Gary Daniels in Prince Albert for the announcement on Thursday.
Fehr said he’s confident there is a strong market for OSB, and Prince Albert is an ideal location to begin producing it.
“We now have access to sufficient high-quality fibre to furnish the project. That’s huge for us,” Fehr said. “We wouldn’t build this if we didn’t have that fiber.”
Fehr said strong support from the Saskatchewan government and local First Nations led them to build the OSB plant in Prince Albert instead of Northern British Columbia. During the press conference, he singled out Energy and Resources Minister Jim Reiter as being especially helpful compared to what Fehr called “the b*llshit we get in British Columbia.”
“We can’t do anything there anymore and it’s just disgusting,” Fehr said. “What we see in Saskatchewan, and what my friends tell me about this cat (Moe) sitting here and the guys that I’ve met like Joe (Prince Albert MLA Joe Hargrave) and Jim Reiter, and the different politicians, I feel a level of comfort with investing in this province still.
“Politicians come and go too, but generally speaking, Saskatchewan so far still doesn’t have the same agenda that I see in British Columbia, and the fibre is good. Those are the reasons, and don’t ever underestimate the political side of that for me.”
Construction will begin in 2025, with the goal of shipping their first products by 2027. Fehr estimates it will employ around 800 people directly and indirectly.
“OSB has become the go-to building material for sheeting,” Fehr said.
“Everyone knows the demand to build more housing across North America. We believe we can help fill that market with OSB from One Sky in Prince Albert.”
Fehr said the price of OSB has fluctuated between $225 to $700 over the past 20 years. He’s confident the plant will break-even at $225.
IFI will partner with One Sky on the project. Fehr said having Indigenous support was crucial to moving the project forward.
“I said I was not going to do anything without Indigenous people in British Columbia, or Alberta, or Saskatchewan, and so (I’m) very, very, very proud to be sitting here with that still as part of my thing,” he said. “It’s taken us a while to get to this point. I can tell you without a doubt, we would not have been here this long without strong and ongoing Indigenous support from Indigenous partners.”
IFI represents Montreal Lake Business Ventures, Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Big River First Nation, and Tatanka Oyate Holdings.
IFI board chair Gary Daniels said the announcement was huge for the Prince Albert region and Indigenous communities. He said the partnership means First Nations people would benefit from the wealth generated by the plant.
“We’ve been at this for about five-and-a-half years, so we’re really excited to see it get to this stage,” said Daniels.
Mayor Greg Dionne welcomed the news of a new OSB plant and timber allocation. He said the development would be a big boost to the City’s coffers, but added it may come with extra traffic, and that could mean more talks about a second bridge.
“We will need it in the future once we get the rest of the OSB plant going,” he said.
“I know we want the bridge, but that’s in the future. Let’s get the industry we need to justify that second bridge.”
The timber allocation is part of the provincial government’s plan to double the size of Saskatchewan’s forestry industry. Premier Scott Moe said an active forestry industry makes the Prince Albert region stronger.
When asked about possible environmental impacts, Moe said Saskatchewan has “some of the most ethical and sustainable products on earth.” He added that having a strong forestry industry is one of the best ways to sequester carbon.
“We would invite all the rest of the people who live in this province and across Western Canada, even those in British Columbia, and across the nation as Canadians, to be proud of not only what we’re producing, not only how we’re generating wealth in our communities, but to be proud of how we’re actually producing those products and providing them to the world, because we’re doing it better than anyone else.”
