Freeman lumber loan provides employment security

The 175-year-old lumber company, one of the oldest family-run sawmill businesses in Nova Scotia employs about 75 people, according to Co-owner Richard Freeman, and produces about 60-million board feet of lumber and value-added lumber products per year.

"Freeman's is a highly efficient operation that has an annual payroll in excess of $4-million a year in a rural part of our province," said Angus MacIsaac, Minister of Economic Development. "It is a critical contributor to the economy of that area."

The company recently laid-off 19 employees but continues to increase the mill’s productivity through better equipment, reducing expenses and looking for operational efficiencies.

Freeman said during a past interview company officials didn’t want to make the lay-off decision but was forced to in order to save the rest of the workforce in the wake of a high Canadian dollar, a weak real estate market in the United States and competition from “subsidized” British Columbian lumber.

The loan from the province's Industrial Expansion Fund is repayable in two years and is expected to give the company sufficient time to reorganize its financial commitments to other credit organizations.

Queens MLA Vicki Conrad applauded the government initiative in a responding press release but said more needs to be done in terms of “long-term planning” for Nova Scotia’s key industries.

“Freeman Lumber is a major employer in North Queens. Action and investment are needed for Nova Scotia’s cornerstone industries, like forestry, to find the markets and develop the products on which they can make money in a difficult economic climate. Today is a good day for the residents of Queens.”

She continued, however. “This is a good start, but the Conservatives have to call on their federal counterparts for more action and investment. For too long, there has been a refusal by Conservatives, both federally and provincially, to commit to manufacturing industries like Freeman Lumber.”

The Industrial Expansion Fund is one method the government of Nova Scotia uses to support economic development in the province. According to a government press release, “It is key to helping industries involved in innovative research and technology while contributing to a prosperous and sustainable business climate for Nova Scotia.”

With files from Mark Roberts