Montreal, Quebec, Canada 18 July 2012/CNW Telbec/ -- In light of today's protest by members of the Algonquin First Nations in front of Resolute Forest Products' headquarters in Montreal, the Company wishes to provide clarity about its ongoing woodlands operations in the Barrière Lake area located in the Outaouais region of Quebec.

The wood volume allocation near Barrière Lake was granted to Resolute by the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife (QMNRW) under the terms of the Forest Act of the province of Quebec. This wood allocation supplies the Company's sawmill located in Maniwaki.

As per rulings issued by the Supreme Court of Canada, the QMNRW has developed and implemented a consultation process with First Nations communities that must be completed before any cutting permit can be authorized. Resolute's right to harvest in the area has been approved by the QMNRW, following appropriate consultation with the Barrière Lake Algonquin band council.

Resolute has managed woodlands in the Barrière Lake area for four years and also has several  partnerships with a number of Aboriginal communities in Quebec and Ontario. The current controversy seems to be linked to political tensions within the Lake Barrière community, and Resolute regrets being at the center of this internal dispute. The Company continues to work collaboratively with local government and First Nations authorities.

About Resolute Forest Products

Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. The Company owns or operates 21 pulp and paper mills and 22 wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Marketing its products in more than 90 countries, Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to sustainable forest management standards. The shares of Resolute Forest Products trade under the stock symbol RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Resolute and other member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada, as well as a number of environmental organizations, are partners in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The group works to identify solutions to conservation issues that meet the goal of balancing equally the three pillars of sustainability linked to human activities: environmental, social and economic. Resolute is also a member of the World Wildlife Fund's Climate Savers program, in which businesses establish ambitious targets to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work aggressively toward achieving them.