Temiscaming, Quebec-based Tembec has announced temporary shutdowns at its sawmills in Elko and Canal Flats, British Columbia.

“These shutdowns are due to a combination of factors,” said Dennis Rounsville, executive vp and president of Tembec’s Forest Products Group. “These include the sharp decline in demand and prices for lumber and the impact of the high value of the Canadian dollar.”

The Elko sawmill/planer mills will close for a minimum of two weeks starting Oct. 1, and the Canal Flats sawmill/planer mills will take downtime beginning Oct. 15.

The Canal Flats and Elko sawmills and planer mills have an annual production capacity of 420,000 Mfbm of SPF lumber and employ about 480 people.

Tembec has already shut down facilities in Timmins and Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and La Sarre and BZarn, Quebec.