Clément Gignac, Quebec's economic development minister, said the province may consider investing in AbitibiBowater, if the company and its unions would make "sacrifices" and cut costs by $50 to $75 U.S. per tonne to widen margins and improve profitability.

Quebec has been watching closely the restructuring of AbitibiBowater since the company went into court protection from creditors last April. It has pulp and paper and lumber mills in Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces and Ontario, besides the United States. It is also in creditor protection in the U.S.

Any aid from Quebec would have to be confined to AbitibiBowater's Quebec assets and cannot contravene the Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Pact. Quebec has used its Investissement Québec and the Société générale de financement to shore up some Quebec companies in the past.

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Quebec mulls investment in wilting AbitibiBowater (The Gazette)