Mcneil shows courage predecessors lacked
Nova Scotia’s Premier Stephen Mcneil honoured his word to the Pictou Landing First Nations (PLFN) Mi’kmaq community and for that he deserves our respect.
And, understanding how difficult his decision is for Nova Scotians working in the forestry sector who now face an uncertain future, Mcneil had the courage his predecessors lacked and ended more than a halfcentury of environmental racism epitomized by Boat Harbour.
As the premier made abundantly clear in his news conference Friday, his government gave Northern Pulp every opportunity and five years to deliver an environmentally-sound solution to treat its industrial effluent. The company failed to do so.
Since passing the Boat Harbour Act in 2015, Mcneil has been steadfast that the tidal estuary adjacent the PLFN won’t continue to receive the mill’s toxic effluent beyond Jan. 31, 2020. He stayed true to that commitment last week in the face of intense pressure from the province’s forestry sector to extend the deadline so the mill could remain in operation.
"Now, I am making a commitment to the workers of the mill and the forestry sector throughout Nova Scotia that we (the provincial government) will be here for you in this transition – and make no mistake, I will honour that commitment as well," Mcneil said.
The premier showed obvious frustration with the mill’s owners, and his voice cracked with raw emotion when he spoke of the forestry workers who he knows will be deeply disappointed, and frightened for their futures, as a result of his decision. “Please, don’t despair,” he implored them.
Mcneil’s decision almost certainly marks the end for the 53-year-old kraft pulp mill. Northern Pulp’s parent company Paper Excellence has said as much.
The mill opened in 1967 as Scott Paper, and from the outset the PLFN has had to live with its contaminated outflowing effluent. Pictou Landing borders Boat Harbour, the once-pristine tidal estuary the Mi’kmaq know as A’se’k and have cherished as a place of recreation and sustenance since long before colonists, settlers and pulp mills arrived.
Previous provincial governments promised to end the ongoing pollution of A’se’k, but Mcneil made good on the pledge. The province, with federal assistance, will remediate and try to restore the polluted lagoon.
The premier said the decision was one of the most difficult his government has faced since coming to office in 2013. It may also have been his finest hour.
During his 40-plus-minute news conference, Premier Mcneil was asked about environmental racism. He, and others, have labeled Boat Harbour an example of environmental racism.
Mcneil made it clear that the days of dumping garbage and toxins on minority communities are over, and with this decision he matched those words with action.
Predictably – and understandably – the announcement was met with anger from the mill workers’ union and others in the province’s forestry sector. Those reactions included allegations that Mcneil doesn’t understand the impact his decision will have and lacks respect for rural Nova Scotia.
That seems both unlikely and unfair.
The implications of his decision were written on his face when he talked about them, and he delayed making the announcement for three days while his government finalized plans to provide transition assistance – including a $50-million fund – for Nova Scotians affected by the mill’s closure.
Earlier in the week, Environment Minister Gordon Wilson announced that Northern Pulp needed to do a full environmental assessment on its plans to replace Boat Harbour with an on-site treatment facility and a pipeline to deliver the waster water into the Northumberland Strait.
Regardless of Wilson’s decision, it’s been clear for some time that, for the mill to remain in operation, an extension of the Boat Harbour deadline would be required. I, along with others, criticized the government’s delay in announcing Boat Harbour’s future, and with it, that of the mill. It’s now clear that the government used the intervening time well, and the criticism of that brief delay was both unfounded and unfair.
On Friday, Premier Mcneil also signalled a long overdue transition for Nova Scotia’s forestry sector, away from an over-reliance on one market – Northern Pulp – for its waste wood and sawmill chips.
He said his government would accelerate efforts to implement the Lahey report – named for its author, University of King’s College President Bill Lahey – which promotes more sustainable forestry practices in the province.
Friday, the premier also seemed to be serving notice that the days are gone when industry can extract almost any price from Nova Scotia in return for jobs or the promise of jobs. If so, it’s about time.