Submitted: The Two Sides Team August 9, 2015

Peter Foster, senior writer and journalist, recently published an article in the Financial Post labelling Richard Garneau, CEO of Resolute Forest Products, as a Canadian corporate hero and "one of the few executives to call an ENGO shakedown what it is."

For the past two years, ForestEthics and Greenpeace have waged campaigns against Resolute Forest Products and have targeted customers of Resolute.

Resolute claims that the market campaigning does not reflect on-the-ground forestry practices and sustainability leadership in Canada, but instead are based on inaccurate allegations.  The company also states that the attacks have resulted in the loss of jobs for workers in Northern Ontario and Quebec, and have impacted the socio-economic well-being of communities.  Read the full article here.

To raise awareness and respond to the campaign, Resolute recently created a website, act.resolutefp.com, where people can send an email directly to Greenpeace and ForestEthics demanding an end to the campaign and a seat at the table for the people who live and work in the boreal.

To reinforce the message, Resolute is also running full-page advertisements in national and regional newspapers as well as launching a full digital advertisement and social media campaign.  In addition, a grassroots direct mail campaign, including pre-paid postcards are being distributed to employees, communities, First Nations and others.

The federal government has also entered into the debate, and is supporting Canada's forest industry against Greenpeace.  Minister Denis Lebel stated that Greenpeace will not destroy the economy of his region and announced a promotional campaign to highlight the forest management practices in Canada.  Read the full article "Canadian government enters the war of words with Greenpeace" from Pulp and Paper Canada here, and the article which appeared in La Presse as well.

For more background on this issue, check out the Two Sides blog from January 2015: Is David the New Goliath?

Share this story