Indonesian agri-business conglomerate Sinar Mas, which has been besieged by accusations of deforestation, is rapidly expanding in Canada, reopening a pulp mill in northern British Columbia and recently purchasing another near Vancouver.

The company's strategy is to add to its supply of pulp to produce paper and other products for customers in Asia, as well as to use a separate corporate arm to try to distance itself from controversy.

Through a Netherlands-based company called Paper Excellence, Sinar Mas on Tuesday officially opened its pulp mill in Mackenzie, B.C., an industry town that at one point saw every mill shuttered during the severe forestry recession.