HAWKE'S BAY, N.L. — January 2019.
That was the last time Hawke’s Bay Mayor Garcien Plowman heard from anyone from the company planning to build a pellet plant in his town.
The Hawke’s Bay mayor had been hopeful after Timberlands International, a subsidiary of Active Energy Group, was awarded two forestry permits on the Northern Peninsula.
The company had intentions to harvest pulpwood in Districts 17 and 18 and convert it into CoalSwitch pellets, a product developed as a biomass-based fuel by Active Energy Group.
The pellets would be manufactured at a plant to be constructed in Hawke’s Bay.
The company has a total annual allowable cut of 100,000 cubic metres across both forestry areas, equating to 500,000 cubic metres over five years.
The Department of Fisheries and Land Resource and the company had brought great news to the small Northern Peninsula town and the surrounding area.
There was an opportunity for job growth.
There was reason for hope.
“It would have been great for everybody, both sides of the peninsula,” Plowman told The Western Star. “There was supposed to be a sawmill developed in the Roddickton area in conjunction with this.”
Plowman said it would have increased the town’s tax base. Furthermore, he said, the company indicated it would donate to, what he calls, “extra-curricular activities” within the town, such as the fire department.
“There would have been a chance for kids to return home with jobs,” he added. “And Hawke’s Bay only has a population of 300, there would have been a regional effect. (Nearby) Port Saunders and Port au Choix would have also had kids returning home because I’m sure we couldn’t supply the 25 workers and skilled labour they needed. It would have been an economic benefit for the full region.”
But about a year and a half later, no one knows if they’ll ever see the pellet plant built.
“Hopes are pretty dim,” he said. “The minister (Gerry Byrne) has announced there’s still talks but hasn’t provided any concrete information either.
"The town is sitting and waiting, hoping it goes ahead, but not too optimistic right now.”
One of the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources’ permit conditions stipulated the company must harvest 30 to 60 per cent of timber in the first 30 months.
If the company fails to do that, the department can exercise its right to revoke the permits.
The clock is ticking and 15 months have passed since the permits were first awarded late Nov. 2018.
Plowman said there’s no sign any timber has been harvested and also confirmed the municipality have received no requests from the company to build anywhere in the community.
Not in good standing
Moreover, Timberlands is not in good standing in Service NL’s registry.
This means the company has not filed its annual return to Service NL.
Krista Dalton, Service NL’s media relations manager, confirmed the corporate annual return was outstanding for the filing period ending March 31, 2019.
Furthermore, the registry has discovered the registered office of the corporation is no longer valid. Under the Corporations Act, the corporation is required to notify the registry of a change to the registered office within 15 days.
That was nearly a year ago and the registry has not been notified.
The Registrar may dissolve a corporation for non-filing or fees owing, as outlined in Section 341 of the Corporations Act.
The department said the typical threshold before placing a corporation on an involuntary dissolution list is at least three consecutive years of non-filing of corporate annual returns.
If the company does not file again by March 31, 2020, it will be two consecutive years.
Dalton added the corporation has been contacted seeking resolution to the outstanding items.
Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne said he has been in touch with current Active Energy CEO Michael Rowan and executive director Antonio Esposito about Timberland’s compliance.
“We did raise, with the company, their compliance under the corporate registry and they indicated they had made all necessary arrangements to be in compliance,” he told The Western Star.
In the event the company was found not to be in compliance with Service NL, Byrne said he would seek the opinion of the Department of Justice as to whether or not it would constitute a significant breach of their forestry permit and whether or not it would be just cause to revoke the permit.
Subsequently, upon confirmation from Service NL that the company had not filed its annual returns, Craig Renouf, Department of Fisheries and Land Resources media manager, confirmed the department would reach out to the Department of Justice for their opinion on the issue.
Company directors?
The Western Star has also learned the current directors listed in the registry for Timberlands, Richard Spinks and Thomas Harty, are no longer with the company.
Spinks, a former CEO of Active Energy, stepped down as director in May 2019.
The Western Star contacted Harty, a resident of Pasadena, NL, about his status with the company.
He confirmed he was approached by Spinks to join as a director November 2018, but he resigned in March 2019.
“I just moved on to other things,” he said. “Better opportunities, I guess you could say.”
He is not aware of the company’s plans, but felt bad for the people of the Northern Peninsula.
“It could have been really good for the Northern Peninsula,” he said. “There was a lot of hype up there about it and I feel bad for the folks up there. They got their hopes up and it seemed like it was dashed. And of all the places on the island, they could have really used that shot in the arm.”
The Western Star contacted Active Energy Group by email regarding the status of the pellet plant and whether new directors had been appointed to Timberlands.
The company did not respond as of publication deadline.
