Canfor's Prince George Pulp and Paper mill is moving a maintenance shutdown previously planned for April to this month, in order to coincide with unplanned maintenance requiring the shutdown of the recovery boiler. It was discovered that the recovery boiler had a leak which needed to be repaired.

The total duration of the shutdown of the boiler is expected to be approximately 20 days and the total reduced pulp production in the first quarter is expected to be approximately 15,000 tonnes, including the 4 days and 3,600 tonnes previously scheduled for the April outage. Operation of the paper machine during part of the shut down period is expected to mitigate the financial impact of these outages.

Canfor Pulp operates three pulp mills in Prince George which employ more than 1,100 people. Canfor Pulp, an income trust, was spun out from Canfor Corp. several years ago.

AbitibiBowater announced today the Company has received approval for a process to call for employee and other specified creditor claims (the "Second Claims Process") by the Quebec Superior Court in Canada and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. This Second Claims Process follows an earlier call for specified creditor claims which was approved by the courts and announced on September 4, 2009 (the "First Claims Process").

The Second Claims Process outlines the procedures by which specified creditors can make claims against the Company. These specified creditors include, among others: certain creditors that were not subject to the First Claims Process, such as Company employees who were active as at April 16, 2009, or thereafter; certain creditors who may have claims arising from the breach or repudiation of contracts arising after August 31, 2009; and certain Company lenders. A comprehensive listing of procedures and specified creditors has been included in the Thirty-Second Report of the Monitor, a link to which can be found on abitibibowater.com.

Under the Second Claims Process, creditor claims must be received by 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on April 7, 2010.

The Monitor, Ernst & Young Inc., and the Company's Claims Agent, Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions, LLC, will be mailing proof of claim packages to all known specified creditors. In addition, a copy of the court orders and the proof of claim package will be available through a link on abitibibowater.com. Creditors, or any other interested parties, who do not receive a proof of claim package can obtain the information through the Company website.

More information about AbitibiBowater's restructuring process can be found at www.abitibibowater.com or by calling toll-free 888 266-9280. International callers should dial 503 597-7698.

AbitibiBowater produces a wide range of newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. It is the eighth largest publicly traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world. AbitibiBowater owns or operates 22 pulp and paper facilities and 27 wood products facilities located in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Marketing its products in more than 90 countries, the Company is also among the world's largest recyclers of old newspapers and magazines, and has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management standards. AbitibiBowater's shares trade over-the-counter on the Pink Sheets and on the OTC Bulletin Board under the stock symbol ABWTQ.

Fraser Papers Inc., the Canadian Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, the Government of New Brunswick, and other stakeholders, have agreed to the broad terms under which Fraser Papers will proceed to close the sale of its specialty papers business to a company sponsored by the secured creditors of Fraser Papers (Newco).

The agreement included proposed changes to the collective agreements at the company's Edmundston pulp and energy complex which will require ratification on or before March 10, 2010.

The company has filed the agreement with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and will work with its secured creditors and Newco to close the sale of the specialty papers business before March 31, 2010.

Under the terms of the purchase agreement, the unsecured creditors of Fraser Papers will receive promissory notes and a 49% common equity interest in the new company. Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a secured creditor, has agreed to convert its secured claim against the company into a 51% common equity interest in Newco while the Government of New Brunswick has agreed to convert its $35 million secured loan plus accrued interest into equity in the form of preferred shares of the new company.

Fraser Papers also announced that the Court has granted a further extension of its creditor protection to April 9.

The forest and paper sector is changing. It's a matter of survival. Take the next step towards transforming into a more profitable business by joining PricewaterhouseCoopers at our 23rd Annual Global Forest & Paper Industry Conference. Find out about emerging trends, new innovations, and other ways forest products companies are transforming to add value for customers and improve their bottom line.

New revenue streams, strategic partnerships, new technology or simply making the most with what you already have. . . it's on the agenda.

link to Conference media

May 11, 2010
Vancouver, Canada

For more info contact:
Erica McEvoy
Marketing
Tel: +61 (03) 8603 4827

André Bernier has been re-elected as Chairman of the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada for 2010.

Two new councilors began their term on the Executive Council for 2010-2012 at the Annual Meeting: Daniel Archambault, executive vice-president and COO, Industrial Products Division, Kruger Inc., and Kim L.S. Madsen, technical sales, Stowe Woodward/Weavexx.

Retiring from the Executive Council is Gerry Pageau, Howe Sound Pulp and Paper LP. Continuing their terms as councilors are Gerry Murray, Atlantic Packaging Ltd.; Julie Giasson, Cascades Inc.; Martin Fairbank, AbitibiBowater Inc.; Patrice Mangin, Centre intégré en pâtes et papiers; Terry Gerhardt, Minas Basin Pulp and Power Ltd.; and Tom Johnstone, Buckman Canada.

McGill researcher develops eco-friendlynanocatalyst

A new nanotech catalyst developed by McGill University ChemistsChao-Jun Li, Audrey Moores and their colleagues offers industry anopportunity to reduce the use of expensive and toxic heavy metals.Catalysts are substances used to facilitate and drive chemicalreactions. Although chemists have long been aware of the ecologicaland economic impact of traditional chemical catalysts and doattempt to reuse their materials, it is generally difficult toseparate the catalyzing chemicals from the finished product. Theteam's discovery does away with this chemical processaltogether.

Li neatly describes the new catalyst as "use a magnet and pull themout!" The technology is known as nanomagnetics and involvesnanoparticles of a simple iron magnet. Nanoparticles are sizedbetween 1 and 100 nanometres (a strand of hair is about 80,000nanometres wide). The catalyst itself is chemically benign and canbe efficiently recycled. In terms of practical applications, theirmethod can already be used to generate the reactions that arerequired for example in pharmaceutical research, and could in thefuture be used to achieve reactions necessary for research in otherindustries and fields.

The discovery was published in Highlights in Chemical Science onJanuary 18, 2010. Li is known as one of the world leading pioneersin green chemistry, an entirely new approach to the science thattries to avoid the use of toxic, petrochemical-based solvents infavour of basic substances.

McGill University General Information
James Administration Buil, 845 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T5

Voith Paper: 'Top Green Supplier', 'Intellichoix award' and 'Energia Award' in the field of technological innovation - these are three of the awards that the Canadian paper, tissue and board manufacturer Cascades has recently received.

Cascades more efficient and ecological with Voith technology

'Top Green Supplier', 'Intellichoix award' and 'Energia Award' in the field of technological innovation - these are three of the awards that the Canadian paper, tissue and board manufacturer Cascades has recently received. To support its green image, Cascades has decided to preferably work with suppliers that adopt the same philosophy and pay special importance to sustainability. As part of this initiative, Voith Paper has received on February 2nd from Mr. Alain Lemaire, President of Cascades, the 'Sustainable Development Supplier Award 2009' which was awarded for the first time.

To evaluate suppliers, the Global Reporting Initiative, an international network for establishing sustainability standards in companies and organizations, was used. The questions covered the categories of 'product characteristics', 'environment', 'social and working conditions', 'economy' and 'transparency and reporting'. Voith Paper's technology is "a key element that helps us lower our operating costs by extending the life of the fabrics and related equipments." That's how Louise Fillion, Purchasing Manager, explained the decision to name Voith Paper as the first recipient of this award.

Voith Paper is a division of the Voith Group and the leading partner to and pioneer in the paper industry. Through constant innovations, Voith Paper is optimizing the paper manufacturing process, focusing on developing resource-saving products to reduce the use of energy, water, and fibers.

Voith is setting the standard in the paper, energy, mobility, and service markets. Established on January 1, 1867, Voith currently has 39,000 employees, € 5.1 billion in sales, and over 280 locations worldwide and is one of the largest family-owned businesses in Europe.

Voith is an official partner in the "Germany - Land of Ideas" initiative.

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has released a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind study that examines a wide range of options for renewal of the Canadian forest products industry.

"The study, The Future Bio-pathways Project, focuses on the triple bottom line: clean energy, high employment, and economic recovery. The results are clear - integrating the production of bio-products and bio-energy into the existing industry is a winner on all fronts," says Avrim Lazar, president and CEO of FPAC.
The Future Bio-pathways Project is one of the first and most exhaustive studies in the world on this topic. The project involved more than 65 top Canadian experts in fields as diverse as bio-technology, investment banking, and carbon pricing.

"This study produced a blueprint for change that is both surprising and welcome," says Lazar. "It places traditional products, especially lumber and pulp, at the heart of a new, green business model that has the potential to make the forest products industry a pivotal force in Canada's effort to become a clean energy super-power. If we follow this new model we will be able to produce power on the scale of nine nuclear reactors, enough to meet the energy needs of 2.5 million homes, or one out of every five homes across Canada."

On the employment front the research shows that an integrated mill - one that produces wood, pulp or paper as well as bio-energy and bio-materials -- provides five times as many jobs as a stand-alone bio-operation. It also shows that the industry's 270,000 jobs will be best sustained by following this integrated road to recovery.

"Years of intensive research and development have produced technologies that open up a world of possibility for the forest products industry in Canada. We can now rapidly convert wood fibre into a wide variety of high-value products such as bio-fuels to heat homes or power vehicles as well as bio-chemicals to make cosmetics, solvents, food additives and renewable plastics," says Pierre Lapointe, president and CEO, FPInnovations.

FPAC notes that by integrating the production of bio-products into existing forestry operations, they will be subject to the same high and increasingly stringent environmental standards that have made Canada a world leader in sustainable forest management.

"This new integrated model will cause investors to take a fresh and more optimistic look at the economic potential of Canada's forest products industry. That is why governments should follow this study's roadmap as it best defines where investors will want to put their money," says Don Roberts, Managing Director, CIBC World Markets and leader of the FPAC study.

"Our research shows this new bio-pathway is the business model for the future of Canada's forest products industry. With 300 Canadian communities depending on the health of the forest products industry for their survival, we must embrace the opportunities it presents," says Lazar.

All eight of the unions at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper have voted to agree to a wage deferral request from Kruger Inc., The Western Star reports.

The seven unions represented by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada as well as Lodge 1567 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, voted on the proposal from Kruger. According to the newspaper, Kruger asked the unions to take a 10% cut in pay, which could be paid back to the workers if the mill can improve its bottom line.

The company, according to the agreement, will commit to repaying the lost wages "as soon as Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited returns to profitability (pre-tax profit) and has recovered the accumulated losses since Jan. 1, 2010." The Western Star also states that Kruger is committing to allowing the unions access to the necessary financial information, on a quarterly basis, so the unions can better comprehend and evaluate the profitability of the Corner Brook mill.

Lignol Energy Corporation and Novozymes have established the framework of a multi-year collaboration agreement to optimize the latest generation of Novozymes' enzymes for use in Lignol's cellulosic biofuel process.

Lignol plans to construct large-scale biorefineries for the production of cellulosic biofuel from wood chips and forestry residues. Novozymes supplies enzymes that convert cellulosic biomass into sugars that can then be fermented into ethanol. The parties plan to use Lignol's fully integrated industrial-scale pilot plant in Burnaby, B.C., to optimize enzyme performance across a range of cellulosic feedstocks in Lignol's unique process.

This announcement follows progress between the parties which has resulted in significant improvements in the conversion of woody biomass to ethanol. "We are excited with the opportunity to collaborate with the world's leading enzyme producer to optimize their latest technology for Lignol's unique substrate. In so doing, we are removing a critical cost barrier to the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol. This marks a major step for our industry in achieving the cellulosic biofuel objectives set out by various governments throughout the world," said Lignol president and CEO, Ross MacLachlan. "Our integrated plant is perfectly suited for this type of collaboration in which our industrial process is coupled with Novozymes' biological technology to make cellulosic ethanol a commercial reality."

Lignol is a Canadian company undertaking the development of biorefining technologies for the production of fuel-grade ethanol and other biochemical co-products from non-food cellulosic biomass feedstocks. Lignol's modified solvent-based pre-treatment technology facilitates the rapid, high-yield conversion of cellulose to ethanol and the production of value-added biochemical co-products, including high purity HP-LTM lignins.