MONTREAL, Dec. 17, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) welcomes the Government of Canada's introduction of Bill C-52, the Fair Rail Freight Service Act, which will provide a framework to make railways more accountable to their customers for providing acceptable levels of service. The bill is expected to be voted into law in spring 2013.

Bill C-52 is an important first step in the process of rebalancing the commercial relationship between the railways and their customers, the companies that depend on rail services to bring their products to market. The legislation gives shippers the right to negotiate Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with railways, and sets up a dispute resolution process if negotiations fail, as well as penalties for non-performance by the rail service providers.

"We congratulate Ministers Lebel and Oliver and their Cabinet colleagues for all of their hard work in bringing Bill C-52 to Parliament," said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to working with the government as the bill moves forward through the parliamentary process in order to ensure the Act achieves its intended goals."

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 21 wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. Marketing its products in close to 80 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.

SOURCE: RESOLUTE FOREST PRODUCTS INC.