No 'wink and a nod' for Pope & Talbot, Coleman insists
By
Jeff Rud
Victoria Times Colonist
November 02, 2007
Financially troubled forest company Pope & Talbot has agreed to sell one package of land that remains in a tree farm licence in the Kootenays and is working toward at least two similar sales of TFL property
Financially troubled forest company Pope & Talbot has agreed to sell one package of land that remains in a tree farm licence in the Kootenays and is working toward at least two similar sales of TFL property.
Bankruptcy documents filed in Ontario Superior Court this week list these sales, even though they are illegal as long as the company's private land remains in Tree Farm License 23.
Forests Minister Rich Coleman denied NDP suggestions yesterday that the documents indicate he has already given Pope & Talbot a "wink and a nod" agreement the lands will be removed.
"The Opposition's absolutely wrong,'' Coleman said. "I have had no discussions with Pope & Talbot at all about removing lands from the TFL.''
Coleman said any sales the company has agreed to that include TFL land would have to feature a "subject-to" clause stating the land would first have to be removed from the licence.
There is no such limitation listed in the court documents, however.
Those documents reveal the potential buyer in one of the two as yet-unsigned deals in the Kootenays is the Ilkay Development Corporation, the company that recently bought Western Forest Products private lands released from a TFL in the Jordan River, Shirley and Sooke Potholes areas.
Developer Ender Ilkay could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon.
Pope & Talbot CEO Neil Stuart stated in a sworn affidavit filed under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act that the company "is in the process of selling surplus lands in B.C. to various purchasers.''
A summary of transactions "which have closed or are in the process of being finalized" includes a $4.8-million deal signed on Oct. 26 by purchaser Chou Associates Management Inc.
Some of the land in that deal remains in TFL 23.
The document lists two other pending TFL land deals, including the sale of the Shelter Bay property to Ilkay Development Corporation, and notes a deal has not been signed but the purchase price is listed at $11.3 million. The other pending sale of TFL land is a $795,000 deal for the Burton lands to an unnamed buyer.
The Opposition seized on the court documents yesterday in question period, saying they suggest Coleman has given the company a guarantee its private lands will be removed from the TFL.
"The minister says one thing publicly, but he must have given Pope & Talbot a signal it's a done deal,'' said critic Bob Simpson. "Otherwise, why would Pope & Talbot take the risk?''
But Coleman denied any such signal has been given. In an interview, he said ministry staff are processing an application for removal of TFL land by the company in the Kootenays, but that he hasn't seen it. "They cannot sell land that's in a TFL -- period.''
Mark Rossolo, a spokesman for Pope & Talbot, said he didn't know whether the company's sales included "subject-to" clauses.
"The deals have been signed, but they haven't been closed yet,'' Rossolo said.
Coleman said his staff was in contact with the company yesterday and was told that it "may have taken offers on properties, subject to removal from a TFL.''
Rossolo said the firm is working to develop a court-supervised reorganization plan, which allows it protection from creditors so it can continue operations while it looks at ways of restructuring.
Coleman said the B.C. government has legal staff in Ontario who have gained standing for the bankruptcy case.
jrud@tc.canwest.com
Bankruptcy documents filed in Ontario Superior Court this week list these sales, even though they are illegal as long as the company's private land remains in Tree Farm License 23.
Forests Minister Rich Coleman denied NDP suggestions yesterday that the documents indicate he has already given Pope & Talbot a "wink and a nod" agreement the lands will be removed.
"The Opposition's absolutely wrong,'' Coleman said. "I have had no discussions with Pope & Talbot at all about removing lands from the TFL.''
Coleman said any sales the company has agreed to that include TFL land would have to feature a "subject-to" clause stating the land would first have to be removed from the licence.
There is no such limitation listed in the court documents, however.
Those documents reveal the potential buyer in one of the two as yet-unsigned deals in the Kootenays is the Ilkay Development Corporation, the company that recently bought Western Forest Products private lands released from a TFL in the Jordan River, Shirley and Sooke Potholes areas.
Developer Ender Ilkay could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon.
Pope & Talbot CEO Neil Stuart stated in a sworn affidavit filed under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act that the company "is in the process of selling surplus lands in B.C. to various purchasers.''
A summary of transactions "which have closed or are in the process of being finalized" includes a $4.8-million deal signed on Oct. 26 by purchaser Chou Associates Management Inc.
Some of the land in that deal remains in TFL 23.
The document lists two other pending TFL land deals, including the sale of the Shelter Bay property to Ilkay Development Corporation, and notes a deal has not been signed but the purchase price is listed at $11.3 million. The other pending sale of TFL land is a $795,000 deal for the Burton lands to an unnamed buyer.
The Opposition seized on the court documents yesterday in question period, saying they suggest Coleman has given the company a guarantee its private lands will be removed from the TFL.
"The minister says one thing publicly, but he must have given Pope & Talbot a signal it's a done deal,'' said critic Bob Simpson. "Otherwise, why would Pope & Talbot take the risk?''
But Coleman denied any such signal has been given. In an interview, he said ministry staff are processing an application for removal of TFL land by the company in the Kootenays, but that he hasn't seen it. "They cannot sell land that's in a TFL -- period.''
Mark Rossolo, a spokesman for Pope & Talbot, said he didn't know whether the company's sales included "subject-to" clauses.
"The deals have been signed, but they haven't been closed yet,'' Rossolo said.
Coleman said his staff was in contact with the company yesterday and was told that it "may have taken offers on properties, subject to removal from a TFL.''
Rossolo said the firm is working to develop a court-supervised reorganization plan, which allows it protection from creditors so it can continue operations while it looks at ways of restructuring.
Coleman said the B.C. government has legal staff in Ontario who have gained standing for the bankruptcy case.
jrud@tc.canwest.com
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