The day after the announcement of the sale of Resolute Forest Products to Asian interests, the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) says it is worried about the province's forest industry and deplores what it considers a lack of enthusiasm of the current CAQ government to defend its future.

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"Minister Fitzgibbon can't watch the train go by. It must be proactive in this file in order to protect jobs in Quebec and support the economy of our regions," said Liberal MP Marc Tanguay, Opposition Economics Critic, yesterday in a press release. innovation, energy and natural resources.

On Wednesday, Resolute Forest Products, a company founded more than 200 years ago in Quebec, announced that it had accepted a $3.5 billion offer to buy Paper Excellence, controlled by the wealthy Widjaja family of Indonesia.

However, forestry is the largest in the province, with 6,521 workers in America, including nearly 4,000 in Quebec. It is also the largest stumpage holder in the province.

Written guarantees

The PLQ says it is concerned, among other things, about the future of this "vital" sector for the province and in particular that of the Thurso, Amos and Baie-Comeau factories, which are still inactive.

It asks the government to act quickly to obtain written commitments from the buyers regarding jobs, its investments in Quebec and the protection of forests.

Liberal candidate in Marguerite-Bourgeoys, Frédéric Beauchemin, did not appreciate that the office of the Minister of the Economy (MEI), Pierre Fitzgibbon, described this important transaction as "damage". This shows, he said, a "lack of vision of the CAQ for our economy and our natural resources".

The MEI did not respond yesterday to an offer made to it to react to the concerns expressed by the Liberals.