---
title: "Doerkson pledges faster forestry permits as Quesnel pulp mill shuts down indefinitely"
description: "Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson says his government will approve forestry permits in months rather than years, responding to Millar Western's decision to curtail the Quesnel River Pulp mill."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/doerkson-quesnel-river-pulp-forestry-permits-november-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-12T21:10:55.946Z"
---

Millar Western will shut down the Quesnel River Pulp mill indefinitely, the company announced on November 9, 2026, citing market conditions and uncertain wood fibre supply. Premier-designate [Lorne Doerkson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/lorne-doerkson) responded on November 12 by pledging to streamline forestry permits as one of his government's first priorities, according to islandsocialtrends.ca.

Doerkson said his government would approve forestry permits in months rather than years, and that he planned to meet with Millar Western and Quesnel city officials to understand the conditions under which the mill could restart. "Getting more fibre on the trucks and getting permits approved in months rather than years" would keep mills operating and potentially restart shuttered facilities, he said, according to the article.

## What Millar Western said

Millar Western CEO Karl Meyers told the Quesnel Cariboo Observer that "market conditions and uncertainty surrounding economic fibre supply" drove the decision to curtail the mill. Most operations will shut down over the next several weeks. The effluent system will continue running for twelve months or until an alternative is found.

Quesnel Mayor Coralee Oakes called the news "deeply disappointing" and said it would have "a substantial hit to the city of Quesnel." The city set up a transition team to support workers and businesses affected by the shutdown.

The federal government had provided a $100 million loan to Millar Western in July 2026, according to islandsocialtrends.ca, though the article did not specify whether conditions on that loan apply to the Quesnel mill.

## What the platform promised

The Conservative platform, page 17, promised to create a process for forestry permits modelled on how major infrastructure projects are approved, with decisions in months rather than years. The platform also promised, on page 16, to set a floor of 45 million cubic metres for the annual timber harvest, compared with the 29 million cubic metres the provincial budget assumed under the NDP government. Doerkson's remarks about permits directly echo that platform language.

Both promises are tracked on this site at [/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-forestry-major-project-process](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-forestry-major-project-process).

## What comes next

Workers and residents in Quesnel can contact the City of Quesnel's transition team for information on support programs while the mill is shut down.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.