Community leaders in Pictou County react to Northern Pulp settlement deal

It was an emotional day for some community leaders Thursday in Pictou County and Liverpool after the Nova Scotia government announced it has reached a tentative deal with Northern Pulp that would see the company drop its legal fight to reopen the shuttered mill on Abercrombie Point.

Andrea Paul, who previously served as chief of Pictou Landing First Nation for 12 years, said she was "really pleased" that the agreement would mean the mill wouldn't resume operating.

"This was kind of something that was overshadowing not just my community, but the overall area of Pictou County in terms of what's going to be the future of the company and how is this going to affect what is going on in the region," said Paul, the regional chief for Nova Scotia in the Assembly of First Nations, in an interview.

The mill was shuttered in 2020 after then premier Stephen McNeil decided it would no longer be allowed to dump effluent near the Pictou Landing First Nation.

Fishing boats pass the Northern Pulp mill as concerned residents, fishermen and Indigenous groups protest the mill's plan to dump millions of litres of effluent daily into the Northumberland Strait in Pictou, N.S., on July 6, 2018. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

Paul played a central role in the years-long campaign to get the facility shut down.

"It was something I was very passionate about," she said. "To be honest, did I ever think it would reach the point it has, with the closure of the treatment facility site with the announcement today? No, I didn't think that would be where it would land in that short amount of time. But I'm very proud of the work that was accomplished."

Local fishermen also lobbied for the closure.

"There's a sense of relief," said Ben Anderson, a fifth-generation fisherman, about Thursday's announcement. "I imagine a lot of people are feeling the same way."

There have been signs that marine life has been returning to waters in the area since the plant was idled, he said, as some catches have increased.

Mill once employed 300 people

But for Coun. Andy Thompson of the Municipality of Pictou County, it's "a tough day for families," signalling the loss of well-paying jobs in the area.

"I don't think it's a day of celebration," said Thompson, whose father worked in the mill.

"We talk about affordability in Nova Scotia and in Canada, and the best way to fight affordability is to have a good-paying job. And right now, our community is losing a lot of them," he continued.

"As a community, we got to figure out what we want. Do we want to have a service-based industry or do we want to make things?" he said. "Our manufacturing base has been eroded over the last 20 years."

The mill once employed about 300 people until it was idled in 2020.

The provincial government said the deal announced Thursday addresses the $450-million lawsuit Northern Pulp launched against it over the mill's closure, as well as $99 million in loans the firm owes the province.

The settlement must be approved by the British Columbia Supreme Court. Northern Pulp's parent company, Paper Excellence, is based in that province.

Liverpool residents hopeful

If the deal is approved, the province said Paper Excellence will start a feasibility study for a potential new pulp mill near the former Bowater mill in Brooklyn, N.S., near Liverpool.

Paper Excellence, which has been under creditor protection since June 2020, said the feasibility study would likely take between six and nine months.

The prospect of a new mill being built nearby has left many residents feeling hopeful about the potential economic impact.

"I think it could be a great boon for Queens County as well as the western end of this province," said Kerry Morash, a director with the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. "We really need jobs in this county and in this end of the province. It would be a great thing if this comes about."

Dwayne McNutt, a local trucker who works in the forestry industry, said a new plant would go a long way toward mitigating the impact of the Bowater mill's closure in 2012.

"I think there should be a mill here. Always was and I think it was a good thing," he said. "I say get her built, the sooner the better for everybody."

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