Woodland owners throw support behind Northern Pulp

The Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners has issued a release to express its support for the continued operation of the Northern Pulp mill at Abercrombie Point.

The group is a province-wide organization whose purpose is to champion the interests of private woodlot owners.

In a release, the federation stated the mill provides vital jobs for the rural economy of the province, jobs in harvesting and silviculture, in trucking, and in the equipment and other industries.

“The mill buys sawdust, bark, and other byproducts from the province’s sawmills, and this revenue, in some cases, provides enough income for the sawmill to survive,” it states.

The release also notes Northern Pulp, in turn, is the largest supplier of logs to the sawmills and warns that if that source vanishes, the sawmills — and the jobs and income they provide — will likely perish as well.

“This would essentially spell the end of the forest industry west of the Canso Causeway.”

The Federation stated it is fully aware of the need to operate the mill in a responsible fashion in relation to the environment.

“When the mill was put into operation half a century ago, antipollution measures were inadequate; this was characteristic of most or all industrial operations of that era.”

But it stated that over the years, a series of increasingly stringent regulations have been placed upon the mill, and that process continues.

“The federation supports the efforts of the owner and staff of Northern Pulp, and the government agencies involved, to bring the mill into environmental compliance, and we hope that all parties will exercise the necessary patience and tolerance to see it through.”