{"id":73653,"date":"2026-01-12T15:49:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=73653"},"modified":"2026-01-14T12:27:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:27:54","slug":"domtar-report-paper-trail-to-nowhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/73653\/domtar-report-paper-trail-to-nowhere\/","title":{"rendered":"New Reports: Domtar, Lobbying, and Logging in Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n \n \n Paper Trail to Nowhere: If a Tree falls in the Forest, who will Listen?\n <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \"\"\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n

If you found out that at least $200 million of public funding went towards a single major corporation and its subsidiaries over the last few years, would you have questions about its operations? And if you found out they managed 22 million hectares of forest across Canada<\/a>, would you be even more curious? Furthermore, what if they also had global ties to a corporation with a documented track record of environmental and human rights violations<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n

Our brand new reports\u2014launched today\u2014highlight the concerning lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the company that has been establishing itself as a logging giant across Canada for the last two decades: Domtar, formerly known as Paper Excellence and Resolute.<\/strong> Part 1 focuses on the federal level, while Part 2 focuses on the provincial level, and British Columbia specifically.<\/p>\n\n

Paper Trail to Nowhere \u2014 Part 1:<\/strong>
Domtar\u2019s Lobbying Strategies in Canada between 2020 and 2024<\/strong><\/a><\/h5>\n\n
Paper Trail to Nowhere \u2014 Part 2:<\/strong>
Domtar\u2019s Lobbying Strategies in British Columbia between 2020 and 2024<\/strong><\/a><\/h5>\n\n

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Table of Contents:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Context
<\/strong><\/a>The Findings (+ interactive graphs)
<\/strong><\/a>The Bottom-Line
<\/strong><\/a>Take Action<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Forests are living, breathing systems that sustain life\u2014not just resources to be commodified. And now, with the Carney government giving natural resource lobbyists so much access<\/a>, pushing for transparency and accountability has never been more important.<\/p>\n\n

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The Context<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These new reports trace Domtar\u2019s extensive lobbying activity during a critical four-year period, when the company (operating under different names) was facing growing public scrutiny<\/a>, being called out by multiple organizations<\/a>, attempting to silence us through legal action<\/a>, and approaching a federal investigation<\/a>.

Despite clear rebranding<\/a> and a carefully crafted \u201cgreen\u201d image<\/a>, serious transparency gaps remain. Domtar\u2019s sole owner, Jackson Wijaya, has still not appeared before the House of Commons Committee<\/a>\u2014despite being <\/strong>formally invited<\/a>. Canadians are being left in the dark about who truly controls the largest forestry company in the country<\/a> and what that means for the future of our forests and forest-dependent communities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A maze of a structure:
Name changes and shady global ties<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Domtar, previously Paper Excellence, and previously Resolute, has rebranded repeatedly based on its extensive acquisitions and strategic decisions. Below, you can see the acquisitions as outlined in our report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Domtar\u2019s owner, Jackson Wijaya, also controls Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)\u2014a company repeatedly criticized for large-scale deforestation and conflicts with Indigenous and local communities in Southeast Asia. The switch to the Domtar name was part of a move to repair the company\u2019s controversial reputation.
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Domtar (formerly Paper Excellence) has long been criticized for its opaque corporate structure, largely because of ties to the controversial Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and the larger Sinar Mas Group (SMG).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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In October 2022, Greenpeace Canada released a report <\/a>exposing these connections<\/a>, including family links, overlapping management, and lobbyist filings, which sparked broader global media coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safe to say that the company\u2019s ties and its industry \u201ctakeover\u201d<\/a> across Canada raised flags for many. By 2023, concerns over the company\u2019s intentions led to public hearings before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources. After years of denying ties to the Indonesia-based forest conglomerate, Jackson Wijaya took \u201csole control\u201d<\/a> of APP from his father, Teguh Ganda Wijaya, in November 2024. This move was questioned<\/a> by some MPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peek-a-Boo:
The CEO behind it all fails to appear for questioning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On numerous occasions, Jackson Wijaya has failed to appear<\/a> before the House of Commons Committee to clarify his company\u2019s structure under the pretext of \u201cextensive global business commitments.\u201d Most recently, following the news about him becoming the sole owner of APP, the Committee unanimously voted for Wijaya to testify, which was not implemented due to a parliamentary recess. Wijaya claimed<\/a> that, \u201che\u2019s not deliberately avoiding Canada\u201d and \u201chis team was making plans for him to appear before the committee before the election,\u201d but offered little to no clarity<\/a> on his ownership of APP in a May 2025 interview<\/a> with The Globe and Mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An interesting contrast:
A green logo reveal versus environmental penalties<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Domtar rolled out its glossy green rebrand<\/a>, followed by sustainability targets and \u201cenvironmental stewardship\u201d goals. Meanwhile, its mills were being repeatedly fined for repeated pollution breaches<\/a>\u2014a juxtaposition that provides interesting context when diving into data about the logging giant\u2019s lobbying activities during the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2b07<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In October of 2024, Paper Excellence Group rebranded as Domtar and unveiled a new brand identity.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We reacted<\/a> to recent penalties against Domtar, and the same sentiment rings true in light of our new reports: A corporation’s actions definitely speak louder than words.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

The findings:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

1. Domtar assembled a lobbying team immediately after Greenpeace Canada and others raised questions about its corporate structure and global ties, with a clear focus on the regions in which they have economic ties.<\/h3>\n\n

Founded in 2006, Paper Excellence operated for years without registering any federal lobbyists. That changed in 2022, when the company suddenly hired several high-profile consultant lobbyists, including Dentons Canada LLP<\/a>\u2014the world\u2019s largest law firm<\/a>\u2014and PAA Advisory<\/a>. This shift came after growing scrutiny of the company\u2019s opaque ownership, including our own 2022 investigation<\/a> and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists<\/a>. In April 2023, Paper Excellence went a step further, registering its first federal in-house lobbying team, led by former Chief Operating Officer Stewart Gibson.<\/p>\n\n