Tembec receives FSC certification for forests supplying its Chetwynd high-yield pulp mill, British Columbia

    TEMISCAMING, QC Dec. 17 /CNW Telbec/ - Tembec announced today that it has
received Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for its forestry
practices over an 872,728-hectare public forest in Chetwynd, British-Columbia.
With now 12 million hectares managed according to FSC standards, Tembec is the
world leader in FSC-certified forest areas and offers the largest range of
FSC-certified products in the marketplace. This announcement complements the
2006 FSC chain-of-custody certification of the Chetwynd high-yield pulp mill
acquired back in 2002.
    "Tembec is proud to be the first recipient of FSC certification in the
Boreal forest in BC," said James Lopez, President and CEO of Tembec. "This
certification will allow us to provide further support to our customers in
meeting increasing market demands for environmentally friendly products and
solutions, notably for FSC certified high-yield pulp."
    The Forest Stewardship Council is recognized worldwide as the gold
standard for well-managed forests with its unique regional, multi-stakeholder
approach to forest management. Founded in 1993, the Forest Stewardship Council
is an international, non-governmental organization that has developed the only
forest certification system recognized worldwide by native peoples,
environmental groups, labour organizations and industry. The certification
system requires consultations with all forest users and stakeholders, and
guarantees the independent evaluation of forest management practices used by
companies. Tembec received its certification from the Rainforest Alliance
SmartWood(TM) Program, a Forest Stewardship Council accredited certifier.
    "Achieving FSC certification is the culmination of months of hard work
and represents a well-deserved recognition of the efforts of our BC Forest and
Chetwynd teams. It is a further demonstration of the Company's commitment to
seek third-party FSC certification for its forest operations and to continuous
improvement of forest management and partnership development, including with
local First Nations," said Dennis Rounsville, Executive Vice President and
President of Tembec's Forest Products Group. "We are particularly proud of the
fact that we were able to develop land base management agreements with two oil
and gas companies operating in the region in order to optimize planning,
operations and utilization of timber."

    Tembec is a large, diversified and integrated forest products company
which stands as the global leader in sustainable forest management practices.
With operations principally located in North America and in France, the
Company employs approximately 7,000 people. Tembec's common shares are listed
on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TMB and warrants under TMB.WT.
Additional information on Tembec is available on its website at
www.tembec.com.

For further information: Richard Fahey, Vice President, Communications
and Public Affairs, [phone], [e-mail]; Alexandre
Boursier, ing.f., M.Sc., Canada Regional Manager, SmartWood Program,
Rainforest Alliance, [phone]; Maia Becker, Vice-President, Forest
Stewardship Council Canada, [phone] ext. 25