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Nova Scotia government doles out $10 million more for Northern Pulp

The effluent pipeline may have been turned off but the provincial money pipeline continues to flow 

May 12, 2020 By Joan Baxter

The Nova Scotian government will be giving Paper Excellence, the parent company of Northern Pulp and a corporation linked to the multi-billionaire Widjaja family of Indonesia, still more millions. This time, the amount is $10 million. Northern Pulp still owes the province $85 million from previous loans. And the company still owes $65 million on...

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Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House, Subscribers only Tagged With: A’se’K, Boar Harbour, Boat Harbour remediation project, Bruce Chapman, Environmental Racism, Ken Swain, Kristina Shannon, Marla MacInnis, Northern Pulp, Northern Pulp effluent, Paper Excellence, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Premier Stephen McNeil

“Today is a great day! A’SE’K Day!”

The Northern Pulp mill stops dumping effluent into Boat Harbour today, and the pipeline will be sealed tomorrow.

April 30, 2020 By Joan Baxter 1 Comment

Pictou Landing First Nation Chief Andrea Paul is calling today “A’se’K Day.” Although the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented PLFN and allies from gathering to celebrate the occasion, it is a momentous one. A January 29 ministerial order from Environment Minister Gordon Wilson stipulated that by April 30, 2020 the Northern Pulp mill on Abercrombie Point […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: A’se’K Day, Boat Harbour, Boat Harbour remediation project, Chief Andrea Paul, Environment Minister Gordon Wilson, Graham Kissack, Michelle Francis-Denny, Northern Pulp, Northern Pulp effluent, Paper Excellence Canada, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN)

The province issues tough new orders to Northern Pulp

January 31, 2020 By Joan Baxter 2 Comments

Wednesday afternoon at 3:59 PM an email landed in my inbox. It was from Nova Scotia Environment and it was short, even terse: Environment Minister Gordon Wilson has issued a ministerial order to govern how Northern Pulp must conduct its orderly shutdown of the mill, today, Jan. 29. The ministerial order and terms and conditions […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Province House Tagged With: Boat Harbour Act, Boat Harbour Effluent Treatment Facility (BHETF), Brian Hebert, Environment Minister Gordon Wilson, Northern Pulp, Northern Pulp effluent, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Premier Stephen McNeil, Rachel Boomer, William Palmer

Northern Pulp takes province to court: The saga continues

The unfolding saga of the 53-year-old Pictou County pulp mill operated by Northern Pulp Nova Scotia — a Paper Excellence company that is part of the corporate empire of the billionaire Widjaja family of Indonesia — continues to get “curiouser and curiouser” as Alice in Wonderland once remarked.

January 24, 2020 By Jennifer Henderson and Joan Baxter Leave a Comment

Yesterday afternoon, Northern Pulp issued a news release stating it will ask the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia to undertake a judicial review of the Nova Scotia Environment Minister Gordon Wilson’s December 17, 2019 decision requiring the company to submit a full environmental assessment report before deciding to approve its proposed effluent treatment facility to […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Andrew Ross MacGregor, Boat Harbour closure, Brian Baarda, Brian Hebert, Chief Andrea Paul, Environment Minister Gordon Wilson, Environment Minister Margaret Miller, Francis Wayne Chisholm, Gerald William Battist, Ian Joseph Johnstone, Jeffrey Carmen Black, Local 440, Marshall Stewart Bateman, Matthew Lawrence MacGillivray, Northern Pulp, Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corporation, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Sipekne'katik First Nation, Teal Forest Resources Inc., Unifor, William Andrew West

“The province has in effect decided that it is not going to fully enforce the Boat Harbour Act”

Northern Pulp is "winterizing" its mill, which means that while waste from the pulping process will not flow into Boat Harbour after Jan. 31, wastewater from the mill's power boiler will, at least until April 30. Premier Stephen McNeil says this plan will help speed up the cleanup of Boat Harbour; Pictou Landing First Nations Chief Andrea Paul says she is "very frustrated."

January 21, 2020 By Jennifer Henderson and Joan Baxter 1 Comment

Premier Stephen McNeil made himself available to take questions from reporters about the future of the Northern Pulp mill and Boat Harbour at 12:30 today, less than an hour after Pictou Landing First Nation issued a press release stating that PLFN “has not agreed to allow Northern Pulp to keep using the Boat Harbour treatment […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Boat Harbour Act, Brian Hebert, Chief Andrea Paul, Northern Pulp closure, Paper Excellence Canada, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Premier Stephen McNeil

Northern Pulp, past and future: It ain’t over till it’s over

January 10, 2020 By Joan Baxter Leave a Comment

On December 20, 2019 Premier Stephen McNeil announced that the province would be respecting the Boat Harbour Act, and that Northern Pulp would have to stop pumping its effluent into the Boat Harbour treatment facility on January 31, 2020. Without the use of Boat Harbour, the Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County would have no […]

Filed Under: Commentary, Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Adam McInnis, Atlas Holdings, Blue Wolf Capita, Boat Harbour Act, Brian Baarda, Brian Hebert, Chief Andrea Paul, Elmsdale Lumber, Graham Kissack, hot idle, Kathy Cloutier, Kelliann Dean, Minister Gordon Wilson, MP Peter MacKay, Northern Pulp closure, Northern Pulp loans, Northern Resources Nova Scotia Corporation, Northern Timber, Paper Excellence, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Premier Darrell Dexter, Premier John Hamm, Premier Stephen McNeil, Robin Wilber, Widjaja family

The Transportation Safety Board doesn’t want you to hear the Cockpit Voice Recording of Flight 624

Morning File, Wednesday, January 8, 2020

January 8, 2020 By Tim Bousquet 3 Comments

News 1. Weather There’s weather today. A lot of schools, businesses, and governments are closed. Everyone will complain about stuff. 2. Taxes “It’s early in the budget season, but Halifax regional councillors are hoping to keep next year’s tax increase well below inflation,” reports Zane Woodford: Council’s budget committee met Tuesday to work toward creating […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: affordable housing, Air Canada, Air Canada Flight 624, Air Canada Pilots Association, Airbus S.A.S., Alexander Quon, Asher Hodara, atmospheric carbon dioxide, Attorney General of Canada, Boat Harbour, cannabis, Chief Andrea Paul, climate change, Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), designated smoking areas, Elmsdale Lumber, Georges Liboy, Georgie Fagan, Halifax International Airport Authority, Halifax Stanfield International Airport, hot idle, Jesse Thomas, Justice Patrick Duncan, Kathleen Carroll-Byrne, Lindsay Jones, Nav Canada, Northern Pulp closure, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Richard Starr, Robin Wilber, Smoking ban, Transportation Safety Board (TSB), Zane Woodford

Another loss for local journalism

Morning File, Tuesday, January 7, 2020

January 7, 2020 By Philip Moscovitch Leave a Comment

News 1. Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes Tim Bousquet wrote this item. “Environmentalists who celebrated extra cash in last year’s municipal budget for park land protection are worried a reduced budget for next year means the city is again forgetting about Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes,” reports Zane Woodford: Halifax regional council is working on the capital […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Advocate Media, Alex Cooke, André Valotaire, Annapolis Group, Archbishop Anthony Mancini, Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness, Bruce Frisko, Church Point, community paper closure, Councillor Jim Mustard, Église Sainte-Marie, Elmsdale Lumber, Enfield Weekly Press, hot idle, income assistance, Inverness Beach, Jim Vibert, Justice James Chipman, Katy Jean, Michael Gorman, Northern Pulp closure, Owls Head Park, Pat Healey, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Robin Wilbur, Shannon Proudfoot, the Laker, Tom Ayers, Zane Woodford

The Northern Pulp saga is a “really, really, really, really difficult time” for Pictou Landing First Nation

Morning File, Friday, December 20, 2019

December 20, 2019 By Tim Bousquet and Joan Baxter 7 Comments

News 1. A “really, really, really, really difficult time” Joan Baxter wrote this item. About 300 people gathered yesterday in the school gymnasium at Pictou Landing First Nation for a rally to support the Boat Harbour Act. That legislation, passed in 2015 by Premier Stephen McNeil’s Liberal government with support of the Progressive Conservatives and NDP, […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: A’se’K, Boat Harbour Act, Brian Baarda, Chief Andrea Paul, Clean the Mill, convention centre hotel, Derek Ross, Dr. Richard Strauss, Elizabeth McMillan, Forest Nova Scotia, Haley Ryan, Jaddus Joseph Poirier, Linda Little, Lt. Derek de Jong, Michael Patrick McNutt, Murray Prest, Northern Pulp, Nova Centre, Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association, Paper Excellence, Philip Croucher, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Premier Stephen McNeil, Ralph Francis, Renee Ross, Scott Maritimes, Star Halifax, Stirling McLean, Sutton Place Hotels, Taryn Grant, Unifor, Utility and Review Board, Wade Prest, Yvette d'Entremont, Zane Woodford

A pinch of SALT

Morning File, Thursday, December 19, 2019

December 19, 2019 By Philip Moscovitch 8 Comments

News 1. In Nova Scotia, pulp rules Linda Pannozzo’s latest is a commentary on the ongoing Northern Pulp story. While we wait for the premier’s announcement tomorrow, Pannozzo gives us some background on how we got here, and thoughts on how the process has created an unnecessary “environmentalists vs forestry and mill workers” dichotomy: By […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Abriel Fisheries, Andrew Rankin, Anjuli Patil, Assistant Fire Chief Corey Beals, Banc Developments, Besim Halef, Boat Harbour, Bounty Print Ltd, Brett Bundale, Brian Hebert, Develop Nova Scotia, Diane Rowe, Digby Pines, George Armoyan, Glenn Squires, Holloway Lodging, Hope for Wildlife, Jeff Gratto, Linda Pannozzo, Lorraine Otto, losses before the holidays, Mark Lever, Northern Pulp, Pacrim Hospitality Services Inc, Paul Palmeter, Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN), Robert J. Galbraith, SALT, SaltWire, stock photos, Taylor Printing Group Inc, Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS), turkey vulture, Yvonne Colbert

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The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Phyllis Rising — Rebecca Falvey (left) and Meg Hubley. Photo submitted

Episode #19 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Meg Hubley and Rebecca Falvey met as theatre kids at Neptune and have been friends ever since. As Phyllis Rising — that’s right, Mary Tyler Moore hive — they’re making films, plays, and are in production on The Crevice, a three-part sitcom streaming live from the Bus Stop in March. They stop by to talk with Tara about its development, their shared love of classic SNL and 90s sitcoms, and the power of close friendship. Plus: A new song from a new band.

This episode is available today only for premium subscribers; to become a premium subscriber, click here, and join the select group of arts and entertainment supporters for just $5/month. Everyone else will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to it.

Please subscribe to The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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Recent posts

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