Councillors Monday night unanimously approved the resolution which "demands" that the company allow bidders for its idled paper mill to negotiate with the province, and that it agree to "engage in a process" to provide access to wood fibre from the forest that supplied the mill when it was operating.

Although Resolute's lawyers had cautioned the town that they considered parts of the motion defamatory, the wording of the version passed Monday is substantially the same as the original text.

One addition to the preamble states that Resolute has announced a March 15 deadline for interested parties to submit bids for the mill assets, "but has not widely advertised this opportunity or indicated whether bids will be accepted for the mill as a whole, or simply its parts."

Council remains concerned, the resolution says, that the bidding process will lead to the eventual demolition of the mill, followed by the permament reallocation, "by default," of Resolute's rights to the Crossroute Forest wood fibre for use in the company's other operations.

It calls on the provincial government to use "all measures within their authority" to preserve the mill and provide access to fibre for a potential new operator

It also demands that Resolute allow bidders sufficient time and "the ability to engage in dialogue" with government prior to submitting bids, "so they can reasonably prepare for a successful acquisition of the mill."

Repap Resources, a private investment group, came forward in December expressing interest in buying the mill and converting it to produce specialty paper.

Resolute has said it won't deal with Repap until the group signs what Resolute describes as a "standard" non-disclosure agreement.