NDP leader Adrian Dix was the only politician of any stripe to accept an invitation to celebrate Catalyst Paper’s re-entry to the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Dix joined Catalyst CEO Kevin Clarke at the TSX studio in Exchange Tower on January 15 for the day’s opening siren ceremony for Richmond-based Catalyst, whose new trading symbol is CYT.
A week earlier, Catalyst faxed an invitation to the Office of the Premier, inviting Premier Christy Clark to appear for the photo opportunity.
“Premier, we’re very proud of our speedy passage through CCAA and our return to public listing on the TSX, all the while gaining new customers, developing new products and entering new markets,” Clarke wrote in the letter, the only document released by the Office of the Premier after a BIV Freedom of Information request for correspondence with Catalyst. No letter of reply to Catalyst was released.
“Your presence at the TSX event would show support for Catalyst and its 7,000 direct and indirect jobs and $2 billion annual impact in B.C. As important, it would emphasize that British Columbia welcomes and supports investment, job creation and value-added manufacturers that can compete and win in world markets.”
Clarke wrote that he would also be inviting Dix and the MPs and MLAs who represent the six B.C. communities in which Catalyst operates.
Catalyst sought court protection last year in Canada and the U.S. from creditors after racking up a $1 billion debt. It reduced its debt by $390 million as part of the reorganization.
Clark held her first news conference of 2013 a day later on January 16 in Vancouver.
