Achi news desk-
More than two years after British Columbia-based Paper Excellence, the owners of Northern Pulp – the abandoned pulp mill in Pictou County – filed a lawsuit against the Nova Scotia government, the two parties have reportedly reached a settlement agreement.
According to a news release from the province, the agreement addresses issues including the $450 million lawsuit against the government over the 2020 closure of the mill, $99 million in loans owed by the company to Nova Scotia, pensions for former mill workers, and a possible investment in a new mill in Queens County.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston makes an announcement in Halifax about Northern Pulp on May 23, 2024. (Jesse Thomas/CTV Atlantic)
“We have come a long way and have come to a decision that is fair to all parties,” Premier Tim Houston said in the statement. “The company believes there could be a future for them in Nova Scotia, working with the forestry sector in southwestern Nova Scotia, and we are open to hearing them out.”
Paper Excellence launched the lawsuit in late 2021, claiming lost income after the province closed the mill – which opened in the late 1960s – in January 2020.
The statement says the deal – pending approval by the Supreme Court of British Columbia – would see Paper Excellence conduct an independent feasibility study on a possible new kraft pulp mill in Queens County in the area of ​​the former Bowater mill.
If the study determines that the new mill is viable, Paper Excellence would:
- pay about $50 million for court costs
- pay the province $15 million to pay off its debts
- supplementing Northern Pulp’s pension plans by approximately $30 million
- seek funding and work with the province to establish a new mill
“The closing of the Pictou County mill in 2020 was a big blow to its workers and their families, as well as to the forestry families who have worked across the supply chain for generations, mostly in rural Nova Scotia,” he said. r Minister Tori Rushton. natural resources and renewable energy, in the statement. “A modern, efficient mill operating in the Liverpool area could create the pulp market that this sector needs to rebuild, bringing good-paying, export-oriented jobs.”
In a separate news release, Paper Excellence said if the new mill is deemed not viable, the Northern Pulp group’s assets in Nova Scotia will be sold and the proceeds will be used to repay debtor-in-possession financing. possession, funding pension schemes, and contributing to clean-up costs.
Paper Excellence also says the Pictou site will be maintained for potential “woodland logistics operations” in the future.
A court hearing on the settlement agreement will be held on May 31.
