Abitibi-Consolidated Support Softwood Lumber Offer A (TSX) ABY (NYSE) MONTREAL (QUEBEC), Dec. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abitibi-Consolidated Inc.'s CEO John Weaver made the following comments in light of today's softwood lumber proposal between Canada and the United States: "Today's development is an important milestone. This is the right action at the right time. Companies and communities on both sides of the border have been impacted by this long-standing dispute. Both sides have made significant compromise in an effort to bring resolution to this issue. For the first time, Canada and the United States have come up with a framework for ultimately achieving free trade. It is important to move forward. This proposal provides a strong measure of stability and brings economic certainty to our lumber business." "As a compromise, significant give and take was required by all parties. I firmly believe this is a fair deal for Canada and I am hopeful that other forest products companies and provincial governments will likewise endorse this offer." Abitibi-Consolidated is the world's leading producer of newsprint and value-added paper as well as a major producer of wood products, generating sales of $5.1 billion in 2002. With 16, 000 employees, the Company does business in more than 70 countries. Responsible for the forest management of 18 million hectares, Abitibi-Consolidated is committed to the sustainability of the natural resources in its care. The Company is also the world's largest recycler of newspapers and magazines, serving 17 metropolitan areas with more than 10,000 recycling locations. Abitibi-Consolidated operates 27 paper mills, 21 sawmills, 3 remanufacturing facilities and 1 engineered wood facility in Canada, the US, the UK, South Korea, China and Thailand. DATASOURCE: ABITIBI-CONSOLIDATED INC. CONTACT: Investors : Lorne Gorber, Manager, Investor Relations, (514) 394-2360; Media: Marc Osborne, Manager, Corporate Comm & Media Relations, (514) 394-2340

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