Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2026
Greenpeace investigation into lobbying and public funding
Greenpeace Canada published an investigation alleging that Domtar-associated companies received substantial public funding while expanding forest-sector control and lobbying activity in Canada. The report also revisited concerns about the group’s corporate structure and links to Asia Pulp & Paper. These are allegations by Greenpeace and should not be treated as adjudicated findings.
2024
Resolute-Greenpeace litigation
Resolute Forest Products, whose operations were later integrated into Domtar, and Greenpeace resolved long-running litigation in the United States and Canada. The parties described the resolution as ending the legal disputes while continuing to disagree over forestry practices and protection of boreal forests.
2024
FSC review following APP ownership transfer
The FSC said it was evaluating possible consequences after Jackson Wijaya became the owner associated with both Domtar and Asia Pulp & Paper. The issue attracted scrutiny because APP had previously been disassociated from FSC over environmental and social concerns in Indonesia, although the FSC’s earlier review found no current control relationship between APP and Paper Excellence under its stated framework.
2023
FSC and Greenpeace scrutiny of Paper Excellence ownership links
Greenpeace Canada and other groups challenged the transparency of Paper Excellence’s corporate relationship with Asia Pulp & Paper and argued that the relationship should have consequences under FSC association rules. The FSC reported that its investigation found no corporate-control relationship under the applicable definition, while stating that it would assess later ownership developments involving Jackson Wijaya.
1988
Greenpeace protest over Cornwall mill discharges
Greenpeace protested at Domtar’s Cornwall, Ontario, mill over alleged discharges involving heavy metals, PCBs, phenols and dioxins. The controversy formed part of a broader environmental dispute over industrial wastewater, waste disposal and the mill’s impact on the St. Lawrence River.
1903
Sydney tar-ponds and coal-tar legacy
A predecessor of Domtar operated a coal-tar refining and storage facility in Sydney, Nova Scotia, from 1903 to 1962. The site became part of the wider Sydney Tar Ponds environmental legacy, involving contaminated sediments and industrial waste associated with the former steel and coal-processing district.