An Analysis Of The Factors That Enabled The Closure Of The Northern Pulp Mill

Abstract

This study aims to understand the factors that enabled the closure of the Northern Pulp mill on Boat Harbour in 2020. Methods include analyzing secondary data and how the narrative about the issue as reflected in the media has changed over time. The narrative is helpful to understand the factors that led the government to close the Northern Pulp Mill instead of granting another extension. This study argues that the Nova Scotia (NS) government decided to close Boat Harbour because the amount of the pollution and the awareness around it grew too high to ignore, and the mill was unable to meet the environmental requirements, lacking the scientific basis in their proposals and assessments to do so. The social resistance from PLFN was crucial for the narrative against the mill, pressuring the government to act on the Boat Harbour issue. When the pollution started to affect communities other than Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN) and industries like fishing and tourism, the benefits and the harms of sustaining the mill changed. Also, the changing views of the economics of the Mill led the policies towards a greater concern over environmental sustainability and biodiversity. The case of Boat Harbour showed the importance of individual and collective agency, and putting pressure on governments to prioritize environmental protection and justice, protesting environmental racism. Finally, this research looks at Environmental Justice as a master frame for the human rights groups and environmentalists, but much stronger and effective with the help of the non-Indigenous communities and workers from fishing and tourism industries, arguing against the mill.