Mill closure puts Dexter government under fire
Posted Nov 2, 2012 07:38:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Nova Scotia Opposition politicians say over the past year 8,600 full-time jobs have been lost in the province.
The latest victims are workers at the Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Ltd. which produces recycled paperboard products. Announced Thursday, the closure will put 135 workers out of work.
Following the news, the premier said there was nothing that could have been done to save the operation. Darrell Dexter said company officials told him provincial assistance wouldn’t turn things around.
“They said there just is no road to sustainability for the company,” said Dexter.
West Hants MLA Chuck Porter suggested rising power prices were one of the contributing factors to the failure, but the premier says although rising operational costs were cited among the reasons for closing the company, its vice-president assured him electricity costs were not a decisive factor.
“I did ask him that question. He said it was not a decisive factor and that it was a combination of all of these things that they we’re trying to deal with,” said Dexter.
The company cites challenges in the marketplace, competition from plants using newer and more efficient technology, and rising operational costs that are too difficult to overcome.
With the number of lost jobs in the province mounting, Liberal economic development critic Geoff Maclellan says it’s a sign the province needs to take a new direction with economic development. He says the closure is symptomatic of problems with a provincial economy that is not diversified.
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union Atlantic Vice-President Chuck Shewfelt said the workers will face the difficult choice of whether to stay or leave the area.
“That’s the unfortunate story for the whole industry. Most of the industry is in small towns, often times the plant is the core of the local economy,” said Shewfelt.
Natural Resources Minister Charlie Parker is hoping the Hantsport mill workers will find jobs at other operations in Nova Scotia.
“It’s certainly unfortunate, but a lot of those people are skilled and I’m sure they’ll be in demand with other industrial companies in the province,” said Parker.
The mill will shut down operations in December. It had been in business since 1927.
