The Crofton pulp mill, a cornerstone of the Vancouver Island economy for generations, was closed by Domtar in April 2026. It wasn’t just jobs that were lost, but a way of life for hundreds of hardworking families across the Cowichan Valley and beyond. More than 350 PPWC Local 2 members suddenly faced uncertainty and hardship.
The Public and Private Workers of Canada and then-National President Geoff Dawe took immediate action to protect those who lost their jobs and livelihoods in the process. The PPWC lobbied local, provincial and federal officials, undertook various public campaigns, and produced a House of Commons petition calling on public officials to increase worker transition funding, including relocation funding, increase retirement bridge funding for workers over the age of 55, and extending employment insurance for those affected.
Read the Sign the Petition Here
On September 26, 2026, Cowichan-Malahat-Langford MP Jeff Kibble read the petition in the House of Commons. As he stated:
This petition is from Public and Private Workers of Canada members and United Steel Workers members from the recently closed Chemainus pulp and paper mill (in Crofton).
Petitioners note hundreds of Vancouver Island forestry workers laid off since March 2025 are among the thousands from British Columbia. They note also extra 20 weeks of EI was announced in June 2025 was not applied equally to them (and) is now expired in April 2026. They also note the $50 million workers support fund announced in August 2025 has still not been released in British Columbia.
So therefore, they’re asking the government to approve BC’s labour market development agreements with the federal government be released immediately and extend EI extensions until April 2027 so that they may be applied equally to all those laid off workers from the facility in my riding.
More work needs to be done in protecting former PPWC Local 2 members from this hardship, and the Public and Private Workers of Canada will continue this fight. Please add your name to the petition at the link above.
