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

Northern Pulp has asked for another extension in protection from its creditors as it continues to look for financing to build a new kraft pulp mill in Liverpool.

The company, owned by Domtar-controlled Paper Excellence, has been under creditor protection since June 2020 after it closed its pulp mill in Abercrombie Point, Pictou County.

On March 10, the company and the Nova Scotia government announced that Northern Pulp would get a five-week extension while it tried to make a profitable business case for a new kraft pulp mill in Liverpool.

That was after the company said that its nine-month feasibility study found that a new mill in Liverpool didn’t make business sense. It said it would spend the five-week extension looking for private and public financing.

The multinational corporation estimated a new mill would cost $2.5 billion in government and private funding to design and build. And it would require an annual rate of return of at least 14 per cent, as outlined in a settlement agreement signed with the Nova Scotia government and approved by a B.C. court in May 2024.

Bowater operated a pulp and paper mill in Brooklyn, near Liverpool, from 1929 to 2012, over the years employing thousands of people in Queens County.

In a news release Tuesday evening, Northern Pulp said it filed documents earlier in the day requesting the extension under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act until July 18.

“The company will use this time to further advance preparations for a potential sale of its assets, should a new mill not be feasible,” the release said. “Additionally, Northern Pulp will continue discussions with various stakeholders and rights holders regarding the feasibility of establishing a new bioproducts hub in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.”

Premier Tim Houston sent a letter on March 20 to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asking them both to support the company’s application for federal financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton told QCCR in March that the province has been working with the company to make a new mill work.

“We know we need a home for the low-grade wood fibre but at the end of the day, this is going to be a business decision from their part,” Rushton said.

“We’re willing to work with them to meet the environmental standards of a new-era mill that would find a home for ecologically produced forest products.”

Paper Excellence has said a new mill would also potentially produce biogas and biochemicals used in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and adhesives.

Last May, Houston announced a deal with Paper Excellence to settle the company’s $450-million lawsuit against the province after Northern Pulp was forced to close its mill because of environmental concerns.

The hearing on the company’s latest request is set for Fri., May 2.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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

UPDATED March 11, 6:30 p.m. 

Northern Pulp says it’s struggling to make a business case for a new mill in Liverpool.

As part of a settlement agreement reached with the Nova Scotia government in May 2024, Northern Pulp launched a nine-month feasibility study into a new bioproducts mill in Queens County.

The province has agreed to give the company a five-week extension as it tries to figure out whether a new kraft pulp mill is viable in the area.

In separate statements released Monday night, both the province and Northern Pulp parent company Paper Excellence said the company hasn’t yet been able to make a business case for a successful mill.

Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton told QCCR on Tuesday that the province has worked with Paper Excellence for the past nine months on the study.

He said the province needs a processor for the forestry sector’s pulp wood. 

“We know we need a home for the low-grade wood fibre but at the end of the day, this is going to be a business decision from their part,” Rushton said.

“We’re willing to work with them to meet the environmental standards of a new-era mill that would find a home for ecologically produced forest products. I don’t want to speculate what the next five weeks may bring, but we’re supportive of this extension.”

Paper Excellence, owned by forestry giant Domtar, estimates a new mill would cost $2.5 billion in government and private funding to design and build. And it would require a rate of return of 14 per cent, as outlined in the settlement agreement.

The company’s statement said that while the proposed new facility doesn’t meet that threshold, it plans to look for more financing in the next five weeks to get the project going.

“As of today, the proposed new facility’s (rate of return) does not meet the threshold (rate of return),” the company said in the statement.

“However, the company will use the extension period to continue working to identify and evaluate potential financing opportunities to benefit the project.”

Rushton said he’s hopeful the company can make it work.

“At the end of the day, we’ve taken all the measures we can to support their information and allow them to make an educated decision. So we’re certainly hopeful there could be a postiive outcome in this.

“There are different companies that are looking at using wood fibre for renewable biofuels, renewable aviation fuels, things that have to utilize bioproducts from ecological forestry practices. So we’re interested in having a conversation with anyone that wants to come and have a conversation about using our bioproducts from forestry activities.”

Ashley Christian, president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, said she wasn’t surprised by the delay.

“I think there’s so much uncertainty in the economy at the moment and certainly a bioproducts mill would be affected by any potential tariffs that could still exist by the time this mill would be operating,” she told QCCR on Tuesday. “I’m not surprised that Domtar wasn’t ready with a decision. And I anxiously await May and for them to publish that decision.”

Christian said local reaction to a new mill in Queens County remains mixed.

“I think that residents recognize the potential economic impact of a mill in our county, however on the flip side recognize the potential environmental and health concerns as well. So I echo the concerns of our residents and agree with them. … I think (the feasibility study is) just the first part of this. That’s when the real work begins as citizens and for the business community to advocate for Queens County and the health of our environment here.”

According to Northern Pulp, the feasibility study looked at a mill that would produce kraft pulp, as well as biogas and biochemicals used in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and adhesives. The study also considered green energy projects, including a plan for carbon capture and storage.

Last May, Premier Tim Houston announced a deal with Paper Excellence. That was to settle the company’s $450-million lawsuit against the province after Northern Pulp was forced to close its mill in Pictou County in 2020 because of environmental concerns.

The company has been under creditor protection since the shutdown. 

A hearing is scheduled in British Columbia Supreme Court for Friday (March 14) under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act so that the company can ask for the five-week extension to find more funding for the project.

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

When it closed, it threw 320 people out of work.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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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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Nova Scotia’s Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland. (Rick Conrad photo)

Like many longtime Queens County residents, MLA Kim Masland lived through the closure of the Bowater mill in Liverpool in 2012.

“When we lost Bowater, it was a huge blow, to not only Liverpool but to Queens County and to the western end of the province,” Masland said Wednesday.

The Nova Scotia government announced last Thursday that Paper Excellence Canada, the company that operated the former Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County, is looking at the possibility of opening a new mill in Queens County.

The company plans to conduct a feasibility study that could take nine months. It’s part of an agreement between the province and Paper Excellence to settle the company’s $450-million lawsuit it filed after the mill shut down in 2020.

Premier Tim Houston and Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton said last week that a new mill would fulfill a need identified in a 2018 report on forestry practices by Prof. William Lahey. It found that demand for forestry products in the western end of the province was seriously affected by the closure of Bowater and Northern Pulp.

Houston said that a new mill would represent a $1.4-billion investment.

Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, has heard from a lot of constituents about the possibility of Liverpool becoming a mill town once again.

“When we look at the reputation of Northern Pulp in Pictou, it wasn’t great,” she says.

“Environmental standards have certainly changed, environmental reporting has certainly changed. I am a rural country girl who grew up and was supported through our industries aof forestry, farming and fishing. I believe in all of them. I believe that in our province and in Queens County we can still continue that. But everything that we do does need to be done with the highest, and I mean the highest, of standards, environmentally. And that will be government’s job to make sure that if this does go ahead that all of those standards are being met.”

Masland told QCCR on Wednesday that opinions seem to be evenly split between concern about the environment and the potential for employment that a new kraft pulp mill would bring to Queens County.

“I do believe that we as a forestry sector do have the ability to supply a mill. This is tremendous economic benefit to our community, but I also understand that economic benefit and the health of a community, one can’t outweigh the other.”

She said that while people are concerned about the smell and about Northern Pulp’s environmental record, it’s also clear that residents, woodlot owners and the forestry sector in general would benefit greatly from a mill.

“Let’s think about this. In Liverpool right now, Queens County has one of the highest poverty levels in Nova Scotia. We have no industry. We have a small industry in a sawmill. We have no industry, we have tourism, fabulous, we have two wonderful resorts that offer great employment, but we really do not have any industry for people in our community. People are struggling and people deserve to have an opportunity that others have had.”

Masland said that she won’t commit to supporting a Northern Pulp mill in Queens County until she sees the results of the feasibility study.

“I would want to see the feasibility study before I would support anything. I’m not going to say I’m going to support something unless I have all the information. I’ve never done that.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Nova Scotia’s $5.2-million Community Solar Program will help community groups build solar gardens. (Sebastian Ganso via Pixabay)

The Nova Scotia government has created a $5.2-million fund to help community groups and businesses set up solar gardens and sell the electricity.

The Community Solar Program is open to non-profits, co-operatives, First Nations communities, municipalities, businesses, universities and colleges. New solar gardens are expected to be up and running by spring 2026. 

Once people subscribe, they will get a solar energy credit of two cents per kilowatt hour on their power bill.

Groups can team up to build the solar gardens. Each one can generate up to 10 megawatts of power, according to the province. One megawatt of solar power can power up to 131 homes for a year.

The program is expected to introduce up to 500 megawatts of renewable energy by 2026, according to a news release from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.

“Not everyone has the ability to install their own solar panels,” Tory Rushton, minister of natural resources and renewables, said in the release. 

“This program creates the opportunity to buy solar energy from a community provider instead.”

Program details and an application form are available online here.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

A DNNR helicopter is unloaded in a field near the South Horseshoe Lake fire. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Crews battling the forest fire near South Horseshoe Lake in Yarmouth appear to be getting it under control.

A statement from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables released Thursday evening indicates the fire is 60 percent contained.

What started as a 25 hectare fire when firefighting teams arrived on-site Monday grew to over 3,100 hectares by Wednesday.

DNRR expressed concerns Thursday afternoon about the potential for the fire to spread due to dry conditions.

But just hours later, DNRR officials announced firefighting crews made up of two helicopters, one water bomber and 40 DNRR personnel were able to keep the fire from spreading past 3,100 hectares.

Officials have yet to determine the cause of the fire.

As a result of the ongoing dry conditions the entire province is under burning restrictions.

Yarmouth, Shelburne and Queens counties currently have a full burn ban in place.

DNRR firefighters will continue efforts to extinguish the fire on Friday.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Water bomber dropping its load on part of a wildfire near South Horseshoe Lake, Yarmouth County, Photo: Communications Nova Scotia

Provincial officials say the forest fire in Yarmouth County tripled in size and is burning out of control.

A statement from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables says the fire grew from 1,000 to 3,100 hectares on Tuesday, spreading from South Horseshoe Lake west, in the direction of Rushy Lake.

Distance between South Horseshoe Lake and Rushy Lake. Photo Google Maps

Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton says, “Conditions are still adverse, so the fire may continue to spread. However, at this time, we do not see it reaching communities and the province’s response is being managed by highly trained professionals and fire crew members who are ready to respond at a moment’s notice to keep us safe in case of emergency.”

Since Monday, the contingent fighting the wildfire has grown to include 40 provincial fire crew members, two helicopters and a water bomber sent from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Officials says Tuesday’s wind and low humidity are driving the spread of the fire.

Air quality alerts have been issued for Yarmouth and residents are asked to keep windows closed.

Conditions continue to stay very dry across the province, and a burn ban remains in place for Queens, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties.

DNRR will provide regular updates on the Yarmouth forest fire on their Twitter feed today.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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