VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept 5 (Reuters) - British Columbia's publicly-owned Skeena Cellulose Inc. sought protection from creditors on Wednesday, a move the province said would help effort to sell the troubled pulp and timber producer. The company filed for protection in British Columbia Supreme Court after minority owner Toronto-Dominion Bank (Toronto:TD.TO - news) demanded repayment of all outstanding loans, provincial officials said. Details on the filing were not immeditately released, but the company's operations were already idled when the bank refused to extend a C$196 million operating loan that expired at the end of August. The province has sunk more C$350 million ($224 million) into forest-products company since it rescued it from bankruptcy in 1997, and told Reuters on Tuesday that it would not restart operations until a buyer is found. The company has been dogged since the bailout by problems such as low pulp prices, which left it unable to operate its Prince Rupert pulp mill profitably, and restrictions on softwood lumber shipments to the United States.