Letter: What if Northern Pulp ignores the Boat Harbour Act? – Nova Scotia Advocate
facility is required by statute to shut down. With no alternative
system in place (or even being built) it is obvious that Northern Pulp
has no intention of abiding by the 2015 Boat Harbour Act.
We can infer this because if the “Cessation of the Use of the Boat
Harbour Effluent Treatment Facility for the Reception and Treatment of
Effluent from the Northern Pulp Mill” (in the words of the Act)
were going to take place, then, in the absence of a new system, the
mill would have to shut down. If the mill were going to shut down, the Industry Closing Act requires three months advance notice be given to the Provincial Government.
No such notice has been given. In the words of the Industry Closing Act,
“where an employer engaged in an industry is about to close down,
discontinue or abandon the whole of the industry or any portion thereof
which will or may affect fifty or more employees…he shall before the
closing down…give notice thereof to the Minister.” No notice; no
intention to close. The collective agreement in place at the mill and
the Labour Standards Code require similar periods of notice to the
workers. No notice; no intention to close.
So what will happen if the mill just defies the Boat Harbour Act and keeps on operating, using Boat Harbour for its effluent?