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                                                                     Exhibit 4.4
                               AMENDMENT NO. 4
                                    TO THE
                             BOWATER INCORPORATED
                       SALARIED EMPLOYEES' SAVINGS PLAN

     Effective January 1, 1997, the Bowater Incorporated Employees Retirement
Plan, as amended and restated as of May 1, 1989 and as amended thereafter (the
"Plan"), is hereby further amended as follows:

     1. Section 1.16 is amended to delete the first sentence thereof and
replace it with the following:

     "1.16 EMPLOYEE:  Any individual who is hired to perform duties for the 
           Employer on a salaried basis either as a Full-Time Employee or a     
           Part-Time Employee, who is subject to its control and who receives a
           regular stated compensation, including a pay arrangement or paid
           leave of absence, unless contractually agreed otherwise, but
           excluding a pension, retainer or fee under contract. Notwithstanding
           the foregoing, the term "Employee" shall not include: (a) any
           individual designated by the Company on its records as an
           independent contractor, consultant or an individual performing
           services for the Company (even if a court, the Internal Revenue
           Service or other entity determines that such individual is a common
           law employee); (b) any leased employee (as defined under Code
           Section 414(n)); (c) any seasonal or temporary employees; and (d)
           any employee of the Company whose terms and conditions of employment
           are governed by a collective bargaining agreement with respect to
           which benefits of the type provided to employees under the Plan were
           the subject of good faith bargaining, unless such agreement provides
           for participation in the Plan."

     2.    Article I is amended to add the following as Section 1.25, and
subsequent provisions are redesignated accordingly:

     "1.25 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE: An Employee who is designated as being employed 
           on a full-time basis on the Employer's payroll records."

     3.    Section 1.26 (formerly Section 1.25) is hereby deleted in its 
entirety and replaced with the following:

     "1.26 HOUR OF SERVICE:

           (a)   For a Plan Year beginning prior to January 1, 1997, Hours of 
                 Service shall be equal to the hours of service credited under 
                 the provisions of the Plan in effect for such Plan Year.


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            (b)  Effective January 1, 1997, while an individual is a Full-Time
                 Employee, 'Hour of Service' shall mean each hour for which     
                 an Employee is paid or entitled to payment for the
                 performance of duties for the Employer.

            (c)  Effective January 1, 1997, while an individual is a Part-Time
                 Employee, 'Hour of Service' shall mean:

                 (i)   each hour for which the Employee is paid, or entitled to
                       payment, for the performance of duties for the Employer 
                       during the applicable period.

                 (ii)  each hour for which the Employee is paid, or entitled to
                       payment, on account of a period of time during which no
                       duties are performed (irrespective of whether the
                       Employee's Employment has terminated) due to vacation,
                       holiday, illness, incapacity (including disability or
                       pregnancy), layoff, jury duty, military service or an
                       authorized leave of absence.  No more than 501 Hours of
                       Service will be credited under this subsection (ii) for
                       any single continuous period (whether or not such period
                       occurs during a single computation period).

                 (iii) each hour for which back pay, irrespective of mitigation
                       of damages, is either awarded or agreed to by the 
                       Employer.

                 The same Hours of Service shall not be credited both under (i)
                 or (ii), as the case may be, and (iii) above.

                 In determining the Hours of Service credited to a Part-Time
                 Employee who is employed by the Company on other than an
                 hourly-rated basis, such Employee shall be credited with ten
                 Hours of Service per day for each day he would, if
                 hourly-rated, be credited with Hours of Service pursuant to
                 clause (i) above.

                 In the case of a payment which is made or due on account of a  
                 period during which a Part-Time Employee performs no duties
                 and which results in the crediting of Hours of Service under
                 either (ii) or (iii) above, to the extent that such award or
                 agreement is made with respect to such a period described in
                 (ii) above, the number of Hours of Service to be credited
                 shall be determined in accordance with Department of Labor
                 Regulation Section  2530.200b-2, which is incorporated herein
                 by reference.


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            (d)  Nothing in this Section 1.26 shall be construed as denying an 
                 Employee credit for an Hour of Service if credit is required 
                 under applicable federal law.

            (e)  Hours of Service with an Affiliated Company shall be credited 
                 as Hours of Service under this Plan.  Hours of Service will    
                 also be credited for any individual considered to be an
                 Employee for purposes of this Plan under Code Sections 414(n)
                 or (o) and the regulations thereunder (to the extent therein
                 required) or for an individual who is a common law employee
                 but is designated as an independent contractor."

     4.     Article I is further amended to add the following as Section 1.28, 
and subsequent provisions are redesignated accordingly:

     "1.28  MATERNITY OR PATERNITY REASONS: With respect to any Employee: (a) 
            the Employee's pregnancy; (b) the birth of the Employee's child;    
            (c) the placement of a child with the Employee in connection with
            the adoption of such child by the Employee; or (d) the need to care
            for such child for a period beginning immediately following such
            birth or placement."

     5.     Article I is further amended to add the following as Section 1.29, 
and subsequent provisions are redesignated accordingly:

     "1.29  PART-TIME EMPLOYEE: An Employee who is designated as being employed
            on a part-time basis on the Employer's payroll records."

     6.     Section 1.39 (formerly 1.36) is amended to add the phrase 
"Full-Time" before the word "Employee" in subsection (a) thereof.

     7.     Section 1.39 is further amended to add the phrase "Full-Time" before
the word "Employee" in subsection (b) thereof.

     8.     Section 1.39 is further amended to capitalize the phrase 
"maternity or paternity reasons" in the second paragraph thereof.

     9.     Section 1.39 is further amended to delete the last sentence thereof.



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     10. Section 1.52 (formerly Section 1.49) is hereby deleted in its entirety
and replaced with the following:

     "1.52 YEAR OF BREAK IN SERVICE:

            (a)  For a Plan Year beginning prior to January 1, 1997, Years of 
                 Break in Service shall be determined under the provisions of   
                 the Plan in existence as in effect for such Plan Year.

            (b)  Effective January 1, 1997, while an individual is a Full-Time 
                 Employee, 'Year of Break in Service' shall mean any twelve     
                 (12) consecutive month period, computed from the Employee's
                 Severance from Service Date, during which the Employee does
                 not complete one (1) or more Hours of Service. A Year of Break
                 in Service shall occur on the last day of the first such
                 twelve (12) consecutive month period, and additional Years of
                 Break in Service shall occur for each succeeding twelve (12)
                 consecutive month period, or allocable part thereof computed
                 in months and days (with an aggregate of thirty (30) days
                 constituting a month), during which the Employee does not
                 complete one (1) or more Hours of Service.

                 Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, an Employee shall
                 not be deemed to have incurred a Year of Break in Service if
                 he is on an authorized leave of absence in excess of twelve
                 (12) months and returns to Employment upon the expiration of
                 such leave.

            (c)  Effective, January 1, 1997, while an individual is a Part-Time
                 Employee, 'Year of Break in Service' shall mean a Plan Year in 
                 which the Part-Time Employee fails to complete 501 or more
                 Hours of Service.  Solely for purposes of determining whether a
                 Year of Break in Service for participation and vesting purposes
                 has occurred, a Part-Time Employee who is absent from 
                 Employment for Maternity or Paternity Reasons shall be
                 credited with the Hours of Service which he would have earned
                 but for such absence, or, in any case in which such hours
                 cannot be determined, eight (8) Hours of Service per day of
                 such absence.  The Hours of Service credited under this
                 paragraph shall be credited in the computation period in which
                 the absence begins, if necessary to prevent a Year of Break in
                 Service in that period, or, in all other cases, in the
                 following computation period."


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     11. Section 1.53 (formerly Section 1.50) is hereby deleted in its entirety
and replaced with the following:

     "1.53 YEARS OF SERVICE:

            (a)  For Employment prior to January 1, 1984, Years of Service 
                 shall be equal to the years of service credited under the 
                 provisions of the Plan in existence as of December 31, 1983.

            (b)  For Employment on and after January 1, 1984 but prior to
                 January 1, 1997, Years of Service shall be equal to the years  
                 of service credited under the provisions of the Plan in
                 existence as of December 31, 1996.

            (c)  For Employment beginning on or after January 1, 1997:

                 (i)   while an individual is a Full-Time Employee, 'Years of 
                       Service' shall mean the Employee's aggregate period of
                       Employment consisting of Years of Service and parts
                       thereof, with each Year of Service consisting of twelve
                       (12) months and with each month thereof consisting of
                       thirty days.  Years of Service shall be computed
                       beginning on the date the Employee first completes an
                       Hour of Service upon commencing or recommencing
                       Employment and ending on his next following Severance
                       from Service Date.  Years of Service shall include the
                       period of time between a Full-Time Employee's Severance
                       from Service Date and the date he next completes an Hour
                       of Service, provided that he completes such Hour of
                       Service within twelve (12) months of the date he last
                       completed an Hour of Service.

                 (ii)  while an individual is a Part-Time Employee:

                       (A)   Year of Service for participation shall mean the 
                             twelve (12) consecutive month period commencing
                             on the date the Part-Time Employee first completes
                             an Hour of Service, provided that he is credited
                             with not less than 1,000 Hours of Service during
                             such twelve (12) consecutive month period.  If the
                             Part-Time Employee fails to complete 1,000 or more
                             Hours of Service within such twelve (12)
                             consecutive month period, Year of Service shall
                             mean the first Plan Year (beginning with the Plan
                             Year that includes the first (1st) anniversary of
                             the date the Employee first completed an Hour of
                             Service) during which a Part-Time Employee is
                             credited with 1,000 or more Hours of Service.


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                              (B) Year of Service for purposes of determining
                              the Vested Value of a Participant's Accounts
                              shall mean a Plan Year during which the Part-Time
                              Employee completes 1,000 or more Hours of
                              Service.

            (d)  For purposes of determining whether an Employee who transfers 
                 between Full-Time Employment and Part-Time Employment during 
                 a Plan Year has earned a Year of Service for such Plan Year, 
                 the following rules shall apply:

                 (i)   In the case of a Full-Time Employee who transfers to 
                       Employment as a Part-Time Employee, the Employee shall
                       be credited with ten (10) Hours of Service for each day
                       he worked in such Plan Year as a Full-Time Employee and
                       with the Hours of Service described under Section
                       1.26(c) for the portion of the Plan Year the Employee
                       worked as a Part-Time Employee.

                 (ii)  In the case of a Part-Time Employee who transfers to 
                       Employment as a Full-Time Employee, the Employee shall
                       receive credit towards a Year of Service equal to the
                       greater of the credit towards a Year of Service he would
                       receive under Section 1.26(b) for the entire Plan Year
                       and the credit towards a Year of Service he would
                       receive under Section 1.26(c) for the portion of the
                       Plan Year he worked as a Part-Time Employee.

                 (iii) Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection (d) to 
                       the contrary, the Plan shall comply with Treasury
                       Regulation Section 1.410(a)-(7)(f) in crediting Years of
                       Service for Employees who transfer between Full-Time
                       Employment and Part-Time Employment during a Plan Year.

            (e)  The following rules shall apply for purposes of determining
                 the Years of Service credited to a Participant who incurs a 
                 Year of Break in Service.

                 (i)    If the Participant either:

                        (A)  terminates Employment after his Vested Value under
                             the Plan equals the total balance of his Accounts;
                             or

                        (B)  terminates and recommences Employment after 
                             incurring at least one (1) but less than five (5) 
                             consecutive Years of Break in Service,



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                        then his Years of Service shall include those Years he
                        earned prior to the termination of his Employment,
                        provided that he satisfies the applicable eligibility
                        requirements of Section 2.01 following his reemployment.

                  (ii)  If the Participant terminates his Employment before his
                        Vested Value under the Plan equals the total balance of 
                        his Accounts and he is reemployed after incurring five
                        (5) or more consecutive Years of Break in Service, his
                        Years of Service shall not include periods prior to the
                        termination of his Employment."

      12. The second sentence of Section 2.01 is hereby deleted in its entirety
and replaced with the following:

      "Subject to the provisions of Sections 2.04 and 2.05, each other Employee
      shall be eligible to become a Participant on any Enrollment Date
      following (a) his Employment commencement date, if he is a Full-Time
      Employee; or (b) his completion of a Year of Service if he is a Part-Time
      Employee; provided that he does not participate in any other
      non-governmental tax-qualified defined contribution plan to which the
      Employer makes contributions on his behalf and he is not a member of a
      collective bargaining unit for which qualified plan benefits have been
      the subject of bargaining with the Employer pursuant to a currently
      effective collective bargaining agreement, unless such agreement provides
      for participation hereunder."

      13. Section 2.04 is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with the 
following:

      "2.04:   EFFECT OF REEMPLOYMENT ON PLAN ENTRY OR REENTRY: The provisions 
               of this Section 2.04 shall apply to any Employee who terminates 
               his Employment and is subsequently reemployed by the Employer.

               (a)  An Employee who is a Participant and who terminates his 
                    Employment and is reemployed before he incurs a Year of
                    Break in Service (as defined based on his status as a
                    Full-Time or Part-Time Employee immediately prior to the
                    termination of his Employment) shall be eligible to
                    participate in the Plan as of the date of his reemployment,
                    provided that the Employee, prior to the termination of his
                    Employment, actively participated in the Plan.  If the
                    Employee satisfied the eligibility conditions of Section
                    2.01 but terminated his Employment prior to becoming a
                    Participant, he may become a Participant in the Plan on any
                    Enrollment Date coinciding with or next following his
                    reemployment.



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            (b)  If a Participant whose Employment terminates subsequently 
                 incurs one (1) Year of Break in Service and is reemployed, he  
                 may participate in the Plan as of the date he satisfies the
                 applicable eligibility requirements of Section 2.01 following
                 the recommencement of his Employment, provided that he either:
                 (i) had a Vested Value under the Plan when his employment
                 terminates equal to the total balance of his Accounts; or (ii)
                 is reemployed after before incurring five (5) or more
                 consecutive Years of Break in Service.

            (c)  If a Participant terminates his Employment before his Vested 
                 Value under the Plan equals the total balance of his Accounts  
                 and he is reemployed after incurring five (5) or more
                 consecutive Years of Breaks in Service, he shall be treated as
                 a new Employee for purposes of eligibility to participate in
                 the Plan upon the recommencement of his Employment."

      14.   Section 4.01 is amended to add the following as the last sentence
thereof:

            "Notwithstanding the foregoing, effective January 1, 1997, the
            Company shall not make any Employer Contribution with respect to a
            Participant who is a Part-Time Employee in any Plan Year in which
            the Employee fails to complete 1,000 or more Hours of Service."

      15.   Section 4.02 is amended to add the following as subsection (c)
thereof:

      "(c)  Notwithstanding the foregoing, effective January 1, 1997, the
            Company shall not make any Employer Contribution with respect to a
            Participant who is a Part-Time Employee in any Plan Year in which
            the Employee fails to complete 1,000 or more Hours of Service."


     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Bowater Incorporated has caused this amendment to be
executed by its duly designated officers and its corporate seal to be affixed
hereto on the 19th of May, 1997.
                                         BOWATER INCORPORATED

                                         By:                /s/
                                             ----------------------------------
                                               Richard F. Frisch
                                         Its:  Vice President - Human Resources



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