CORRECT DECISION NEED NOT SPELL DOOM AND GLOOM

The knee-jerk reaction to Premier Stephen Mcneil’s decision to stand by the Boat Harbour Act was probably something like, “Oh my god, all those jobs lost.” Premier Mcneil, faced with his most difficult decision, made the right choice. Despite predictions of doom and gloom there is a future worth seeking.

For more than 50 years – the lifetime of the mill – we have been raping the forests of Nova Scotia with the single aim of creating profits for industry. Virtually no regard has been given to the other services provided by forested lands.

Among its many benefits, forests are the most efficient means of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We have continually increased consumption of fossil fuels that raises the level of carbon in the atmosphere. Cutting down all those trees has diminished Earth’s ability to maintain a viable balance.

In a year that has seen increased focus on the environment, we have failed to connect the dots between our actions and the desperate future we are bequeathing to our grandchildren.

We had a functioning forestry industry before the mill existed. We now have an opportunity to return to a sustainable model of forestry that leaves something for future generations.

A sizable portion of the promised transition fund should be directed to hiring displaced forestry workers to plant millions of trees on the land that has been stripped for the benefit of the mill. The short-term benefits for workers and the long-term benefits for the environment make this a worthy plan.

Around the world, and throughout history, billions of people have withstood great changes to their lives. Workers affected by the mill closure should survive to enjoy better days.

Sometimes it takes forced change to generate better circumstances. When sophisticated computers and printers ended my career in the printing trade the future seemed bleak. Then, I secured employment in a totally different sector. I received higher pay and the pension plan allowed me to retire years earlier than would have been possible had I been able to continue in my trade.

Seventy-five years ago thousands were employed in the coal mining industry in Nova Scotia. All the mines closed but the people survived.

Today’s economy offers many more opportunities than were available to the coal miners. A few years from now we will understand that closing the mill did not mean the end of the world.

Orland Kennedy, Brookfield