Mill in jeopardy, company says
ABERCROMBIE — Northern Pulp says the company's future is in jeopardy.
Brian Baarda, CEO of Paper Excellence Canada, the parent company of Northern Pulp, issued a statement saying that the company is disappointed the government of Nova Scotia is seeking more information from the company before granting an environmental approval to build a new treatment facility,
“To date, we have been following the federally and provincially agreed process to obtain the necessary approvals to construct our proposed waste water treatment facility and ensure the long-term sustainability of thousands of jobs in Nova Scotia's forestry sector,” he said. “Our team put forward an in-depth plan based on sound science that showed no meaningful environmental impact, represented a significant operational improvement, and ensured Nova Scotia's forest sector and the thousands it employs could remain a vital part of our economy.”
He said they will be reviewing the decision and the options for the future of Northern Pulp.
“An environmental assessment and the continued operations of Northern Pulp require an extension to the Boat Harbour Act,” he said. “Until we have a decision on the extension of the Boat Harbour Act, the future of Northern Pulp and Nova Scotia's forestry sector remain in jeopardy. We ask that the Government of Nova Scotia provide a decision on the Boat Harbour Act as soon as possible to ease the sense of unknown amongst the thousands of families who are anxiously awaiting a decision on their future in Nova Scotia.”
The company said that representatives from Paper Excellence and Northern Pulp will have no further comment until the Government of Nova Scotia decision on the extension of Boat Harbour is known.
Jerry Dias, the national president of Unifor, the union that represents the workers at Northern Pulp, held a news conference following the decision.
“Today's decision by the environment minister, candidly, is incredibly disappointing for the 350 workers of Northern Pulp in Pictou and frankly the 2,700 direct jobs that are impacted by the no decision today,” he said.
Dias called the hurdles that Northern Pulp has faced “outrageous.”
“At first the government asked for nine studies. Then it went to 12 studies and then they wanted additional information and it went to 25 studies. Then they wanted more information. Now it's gone up to 52 studies. Now today they've said, ‘hold on here, we need more information.'”
He said the timing is horrendous because of the cloud it leaves hanging over workers heading into the Christmas season.
“We're sitting here with a solution that we can touch, but nobody is moving forward,” he said.
Dias went on to accuse Premier Stephn McNeil of not sticking up for workers the way that other premiers do.
“Why there is another delay makes absolutely no sense to anyone,” he said. “There is not another province where the premier is not fighting for jobs. Yet, here we are with the government taking a basically hands off approach.”