HALIFAX - Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil has rejected a pulp mill’s plea for a deadline extension that would have allowed it to continue dumping wastewater near a First Nation after Jan. 31. Owners of the Northern Pulp mill near Pictou, N.S., have said a government refusal of their request would lead to the facility’s closure and the elimination of 300 jobs at the mill and an estimated 2,400 more in the forestry sector. “The company has had 5 years and a number of opportunities to get out of Boat Harbour, and to this point we aren’t even close to doing that,” he said. Former Nova Scotia environment minister Iain Rankin has referred to the toxic mess in the lagoons as one of the worst cases of environmental racism in Canada. Some residents in nearby Pictou, who have long complained about the mill’s recurring stench, have said the pipeline could hurt tourism along the picturesque strait between Nova Scotia and P.E.I.

Source: thestar December 20, 2019 14:49 UTC