Kim Masland is Nova Scotia’s new minister of natural resources. (Rick Conrad/File)

Queens MLA Kim Masland will be taking on a bigger role in the Nova Scotia government.

Premier Tim Houston announced Tuesday that Masland, who is already minister of emergency management, will add Natural Resources to her duties.

Masland had served as minister of public works and Government House Leader in the Houston government’s first term in office. When they were re-elected last November, she was moved to Emergency Management.

Masland takes over the Department of Natural Resources from Tory Rushton, who was bumped from cabinet in Tuesday’s shuffle.

Houston himself will take over the Energy portfolio from Trevor Boudreau, who is also out of cabinet.

“I want to turn Nova Scotia into an energy superpower,” Houston said in a news release. 

“Responsible resource development will power our economy for generations, combat poverty and help Nova Scotians earn more money.”

Becky Druhan is the other Tory MLA out of cabinet. She has been replaced as justice minister by Scott Armstrong.

Masland takes over Natural Resources at a time when the department is under increasing scrutiny for its discussions with Cape Breton golf course developer Cabot Links and Cliffs and its bid for part of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park.

Masland’s cabinet colleague Barbara Adams will also add to her portfolios. She will become minister of opportunities and social development in addition to her roles as deputy premier and minister of seniors and long-term care.

Masland has been a longtime supporter of Houston, backing him in his bid for the party leadership in 2017-18. At an event in Liverpool last week, both Masland and Houston talked about their friendship, and Houston praised Masland for her work as minister and MLA.

Two other Progressive Conservative MLAs will join cabinet for the first time. John A. MacDonald will take over Municipal Affairs, while John White will become minister of housing.

The new cabinet will be sworn in later Tuesday afternoon in a ceremony closed to media.

Parks like Pine Grove Park in Milton will reopen after the Nova Scotia government lifted its woods ban in most counties on Thursday. (Tourism Nova Scotia)

The ban on travel in the woods has been lifted for most counties in Nova Scotia except for Annapolis County.

The Nova Scotia government allowed travel and activities in the woods to resume as of 4 p.m. on Thursday, according to a news release from the Department of Natural Resources. That includes hunting.

The change applies to Queens, Cumberland, Hants, Lunenburg, Kings, Shelburne, Digby and Yarmouth counties. Restrictions were previously lifted in the other nine counties.

Restrictions will remain for Annapolis County until Oct. 15, the end of wildfire season.

“We’ve looked at improving conditions and also at the impact these necessary restrictions have had on businesses, which we’ve tried to minimize all along,” said Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton. “We’re at a point where, for both reasons, it’s time to lift these restrictions everywhere except Annapolis County, where crews are continuing to fight the Long Lake wildfire.”

The ban on open fires remains for the entire province until Oct. 15 or until conditions improve.

The fine for violating the burn ban is $25,000.

The woods ban was introduced on Aug. 5, while the burn ban began July 30.

Fire crews are on the scene of a fire near Round Lake in North Queens. (File photo via Province of Nova)

UPDATED 2:10 p.m., Friday, Aug. 15

Local fire and Natural Resources crews are holding a small fire near North Queens that began around suppertime on Thursday.

Firefighters from Queens and Lunenburg counties were called to an area at Durland Lake Brook, which is near Round Lake, off the Old Annapolis Road, close to the border of Queens and Annapolis counties.

According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System map, the blaze was about a third of a hectare in size. The wildfire burning in the Long Lake area in West Dalhousie, Annapolis County, is about 406 hectares.

North Queens Fire Chief Chris Wolfe told QCCR on Friday afternoon that the fire is being held.

The Durland Lake Brook fire is part of the Long Lake wildfire complex. According to an update from the Nova Scotia government this morning, five Natural Resources and 12 local firefighters are working on the Durland Lake Brook fire, which was at about a half hectare this morning.

The Liverpool Fire Department posted on Facebook that it will also take a break from filling residential wells so they can concentrate on fighting fires. They’ve asked people to phone the fire hall at 902-354-4530 and leave a message. They said they’ll get to the wells as soon as the wildfire threat is over.

An undated aerial photo of the former Bowater Mersey plant in Brooklyn. (Queens County Historical Society Photo Collection, courtesy of the Queens County Museum)

It will likely be March before Queens County residents find out whether Liverpool will once again be a mill town.

Last May, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the region could be the home for a new kraft pulp mill. It all depends on whether forestry giant Domtar, which operates Paper Excellence, believes there’s a business case for it.

Nobody from Domtar or the provincial government would do an on-air interview this week. But in emailed statements, both the company and Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said more will be known in March.

Domtar said in its statement that it’s in the final stages of a feasibility study into a new mill.

“Our team continues to work with the Province of Nova Scotia and is in the final stages of establishing a business case for building a new bioproducts mill in Liverpool.”

Rushton said in his statement that the province is open to more natural resource development, adding the province believes a new mill would be a good fit for Liverpool. 

“Our interest is in the economic potential for our forestry sector and the province — creating good paying jobs, construction investment and strengthening the overall supply chain. Success in our resource sectors means success for our whole province.”

Last May, the premier announced a deal with Paper Excellence to settle the company’s $450-million lawsuit against the province after its subsidiary Northern Pulp was forced to shut down its mill in Pictou County in 2020.

As part of that deal, Paper Excellence launched a nine-month feasibility study into whether a Liverpool mill is viable. 

“The province has agreed to support Paper Excellence in the idea of building a new kraft pulp mill in Queens County, in the areas around the former Bowater mill,” Houston told reporters last May. “With the support of the region’s forestry sector, the company believes that Liverpool could again support a new mill, and I agree.

“If there is a business case and the company brings forward a project, it could mean an investment of more than $1.4 billion in our economy and that’s just to build a new mill. Let me assure Nova Scotians that any project that comes forward will need to meet today’s standards and will undergo environmental assessment, significant public consulation and Indigenous engagement.”

Under the court-approved settlement agreement, Domtar’s rate of return over 20 years must be 14 per cent. 

“We assess the estimated cost of construction, delivered wood, start-up and operation, labour, and funding and financing structures, among many other items,” Domtar said in its statement to QCCR.

“We are also assessing the price and market for the pulp and any other bioproducts the mill could produce.”

Houston has recently said the province needs to open up to more natural resource development, especially in light of the tariff threat from the U.S.

Bowater operated a pulp and paper mill in Brooklyn from 1929 to 2012, employing hundreds of people in Queens County. 

When it closed, it threw 320 people out of work. It also affected people in other industries.

Many of the employees retired or left for jobs in western Canada or elsewhere. The region fell into an economic funk. And it took years for the local economy to recover.

When the premier announced the prospect of a new mill last spring, though, local reaction was mixed.

Some local politicians and forestry workers said it would be a welcome boon to the local economy and the industry. Some others, including local business leaders, said they were concerned about the environmental impact a pulp mill would have.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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