The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the owner of Paper Excellence Group, the privately held pulp and paper maker that controls a commanding share of Canada's forest products sector, is assuming ownership of his father's controversial Indonesia-based business in a development that's reviving concerns about his intentions in Canada. The Globe's Nicolas Van Praet writes that Jackson Widjaja will gain sole control of Asia Pulp and Paper Group from his father, Oei Tjie Goan, according to a "proposed concentration" notice filed Nov. 15 with the European Commission. It means that Paper Excellence will have control over two of the world's biggest pulp and paper companies operating on four continents. Environmental groups point to the family's APP holdings, which have faced intense criticism for devastating Indonesia's rainforests. NDP MP Charlie Angus has warned of the dangers posed by a foreign company controlling such a vast swath of Canada's pulp and paper sector. An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists last year cited an unnamed whistle-blower who called the rapid North American expansion of Paper Excellence (renamed Domtar) a "fibre grab" to feed demand in China.
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