In 2001 Tembec upgraded it's Pine Falls operations, with a resulting decrease in coal use and correspondingly emissions. However it was not until 2008 that the $3 million was given to Tembec, so the funding provided no net reductions in GHG emissions.

As Bellringer explains, contrary to government spin, this funding was not meant to reduce emissions, "...[the] case for this funding was built primarily on economic reasons... in response to concerns over the pending closure of the [Pine Falls, MB] plant." With the mill closed and no net reductions in emissions, Manitobans gained little from this funding.

Nor was this the only funding provided to Tembec before the mill closed down in September 2009. When the Manitoba Government announced an end to logging in provincial parks in December 2008 it also announced: "[a] total of just over $3 million in one-time financial compensation will be paid to Tembec and Tolko to reflect the cost of moving operations out of parks." None of the parklands where logging stopped have restoration plans or new regulations to protect these zones.

It remains unclear whether Tembec was obligated to pay any of this government funding back upon closure.

Even though the Tembec plant was closed Manitoba Conservation moved forward with review of a new twenty-year (2009-2028) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) in January 2010. Manitoba Wildlands submitted comments on the proposed EIS and FSP.