Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Nova Scotia

Northern Pulp to consider its 'future' as N.S. calls for more work on effluent plan

Environment Minister Gordon Wilson says he needs science-based information


The Northern Pulp mill in Abercrombie Point, N.S., is viewed from the causeway to Pictou, N.S. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)
Nova Scotia Environment Minister Gordon Wilson says he does not have enough information to properly assess the potential effects to the environment of Northern Pulp's proposed effluent treatment plant, a decision that's got the largest player in the province's forest industry considering its future.

"The most important result at the end of the day is that we have an outcome that protects the environment, that weighs in all of the competing interests that there are out there, and the decision at the end of the day is one that's based on science and best evidence," Wilson told reporters in Halifax on Tuesday.
The minister has ordered the Pictou County pulp mill to complete an environmental assessment report.


Wilson said he's well aware of the potential implications of his decision and how many people it affects, but the minister said his focus can only be on the application itself and whether it has met requirements to address risks to human health and the environment and explain how they would be mitigated.
"It is a decision I think that did weigh on me very heavily, but it is one I feel very confident is the right decision."

Company reviewing options for the future

Brian Baarda, CEO of Northern Pulp's parent company Paper Excellence, said in a statement it is disappointed with Wilson's decision and is considering its options for the future.
"Our team put forward an in-depth plan based on sound science that showed no meaningful environmental impact, represented a significant operational improvement, and ensured Nova Scotia's forest sector and the thousands it employs could remain a vital part of our economy," he said in the statement.
"Currently, we are reviewing the decision and our options for the future of Northern Pulp."
The province had until Tuesday to decide whether or not to approve Northern Pulp's proposal for a new treatment facility that would pump up to 85 million litres of treated effluent daily via a pipeline into the Northumberland Strait.



Environment Minister Gordon Wilson called for an environmental assessment report from Northern Pulp on Tuesday. (CBC)
The terms of reference for the report will be released by Jan. 10, followed by a 30-day public comment period. From there the mill would have up to two years to submit its environmental assessment report.
That means the matter will run squarely into the terms of the Boat Harbour Act, which calls for the mill to stop sending effluent to its current treatment facility in Boat Harbour by Jan. 31, 2020.
Government officials confirmed Tuesday the mill has filed an application to extend its industrial approval but would not say what that might mean for Boat Harbour on Feb. 1. Wilson would not speculate about what would happen if they company tried to use Boat Harbour to treat effluent after the act's deadline.
The one person who can answer that question, Premier Stephen McNeil, wasn't speaking Tuesday. He's scheduled to address reporters on Wednesday. Baarda called on McNeil to make a decision about extending the act as soon as possible.
McNeil has repeatedly said he has no reason to consider an extension because the company does not have approval for the new effluent treatment project. To make a change would require recalling the Nova Scotia Legislature before the end of January.

Pictou Landing First Nation Chief Andrea Paul says she's confident the province will uphold its promise to close the treatment facility at Boat Harbour on Jan. 31. (CBC)
Andrea Paul, the chief of nearby Pictou Landing First Nation, is happy the province is asking for more information.
"That's what we've been asking for from the very beginning," she said. "To make sure that the science that they're providing is not going to have any harm on our resources, it's not going to harm our fish, it's not going to harm the air and it's not going to harm the land."
She said she isn't worried the province will backtrack on its promise to shut down at the end of January the facility at Boat Harbour, a former tidal estuary adjacent to the First Nation that has been handling effluent for five decades.
"It's not going to change," she said of the deadline.
Pictou Landing elder Louise Sapier remembers what Boat Harbour was like before it became a dumping ground for effluent in the 1960s.
"That was our playground," she said. Sapier said there was "a lot of good memories back then," and remembers swimming and catching "fish with our bare hands."
Wilson received more than 6,000 pages of comments from the public and government reviewers to consider as part of making his decision.
In a letter to the mill, Wilson wrote there wasn't enough information in the company's focus report about possible impacts on fish and fish habitat or human health, something he said was highlighted in comments from federal and provincial reviewers and from Pictou Landing First Nation.
Wilson also raised concerns about the lack of certainty about raw wastewater characterizations and the limited amount of information the mill provided on that and air emissions. There also wasn't enough information about the effectiveness of a thicker pipe that would be used to move the effluent to the Northumberland Strait or how possible leaks would be detected and addressed.
Further consultation with the Town of Pictou is also required to address their concerns about the pipeline route and the fact it crosses the town's watershed, Wilson told the company.

More uncertainty for forestry industry

Unifor national president Jerry Dias, who represents the 350 workers at the mill, said the timing of the minister's ruling "is horrendous."
"What is has done is really put a huge cloud over 2,700 direct workers over the Christmas period," he said.
Dias criticized the premier for "not fighting for jobs" in the forestry sector and said McNeil has to amend the Boat Harbour Act.
Jeff Bishop, the executive director of Forest Nova Scotia, said Wilson's decision means more uncertainty and anxiety for people employed in and connected to the forestry industry. Thousands of people's jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue are tied to the mill's existence, according to a recent economic impact assessment by the union.

The provincial Liberals passed the Boat Harbour Act five years ago. It mandates that the mill no longer use the former tidal estuary to treat its effluent after Jan. 31, 2020. (Nic Meloney/CBC)
Bishop said he believes Northern Pulp has worked as hard as it can to satisfy the government's requirements to get an approval of the project, but the bar keeps moving.
"What the process seems to be doing is as certain information comes in and questions are answered, it begs new questions."
Robin Wilber, the president of Elmsdale Lumber, which employs about 50 people in the forestry industry near Pictou, said he expected the minister to either approve or reject the project, not simply seek more information. 
Wilber said mills such as his rely on Northern Pulp for their operations to be viable because it gives them a place to send what's left over after they turn logs into lumber.
Landowners and businesses like his will all suffer without markets for low-grade wood products, said Wilber.

Robin Wilber of Elmsdale Lumber watches as Nova Scotia Environment Minister Gordon Wilson delivers his decision. (Paul Withers/CBC)
Allan MacCarthy, a spokesperson for the Northumberland Fishermen's Association, welcomed Wilson's decision. For the last two years he and other fishermen have argued there are too many unknowns about how the treated effluent would affect their livelihoods.
"It's going to make everyone feel a lot more secure," he said. "There's a big weight lifted from everyone's minds today."
Ecology Action Centre wilderness co-ordinator Ray Plourde said Wilson made the right call.
"Certainly I and a lot of stakeholders across the province would have liked to have seen this project be rejected, but if I were in the minister's shoes, I probably would have done exactly what the minister did do, which was the follow the terms of his responsibilities without prejudice."
Plourde said it's clear politics didn't influence Wilson's decision and he thinks the mill's application for an updated industrial approval should be rejected.

'Spectacularly incompetent'

Opposition politicians said Tuesday's outcome shows the government's approach to the matter has been flawed from the start.
Tory Leader Tim Houston, who is an MLA in Pictou County, said the government should have just required a more involved Class 2 environmental assessment in the beginning. He said he still doesn't see enough information from the mill that would make him support an extension of the Boat Harbour Act.
"This should have been a higher level of scrutiny from the beginning and in fact the federal government should clearly be involved in this in file and the fact that they're not is a huge disappointment to me."
NDP Leader Gary Burrill was blunt in his assessment of the situation.
"I think it is spectacularly incompetent for Northern Pulp to come, now a second time, with a report that the Department of Environment says is inadequate in what it says about water, inadequate in what it says about land, inadequate in what it says about air," he said.
"What else is there besides water, land and air for the Department of the Environment?"
Both Burrill and Houston criticized the premier for not being available to answer questions on Tuesday given how vital the issue is for so many people in Nova Scotia.

P.E.I. fishermen, Indigenous groups pleased with Northern Pulp decision

'There's still obviously that big elephant in the room, being Boat Harbour and the Boat Harbour closure'


The Northern Pulp mill creates and supplies pulp to make common household products such as tissue, paper towel and toilet paper as well as writing and photocopy paper. (The Canadian Press)

P.E.I. fisheries and Indigenous rights organizations, and the province say they are pleased the Nova Scotia government has rejected a plan by Pictou's Northern Pulp plant to pipe treated effluent into the Northumberland Strait between Nova Scotia and P.E.I.
Nova Scotia had until Tuesday to decide whether or not to approve Northern Pulp's proposal for a new treatment facility that would pump up to 85 million litres of treated effluent daily into the strait. On Tuesday, the Nova Scotia environment minister asked the mill to submit an environmental assessment report within two years. 
"We've pointed out a number of inaccuracies the last few years through this process, and as it turns out the minister agrees with those inaccuracies," said Melanie Giffin, a marine biologist and program planner with the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association. 


Giffin called the decision "positive" and said her organization hopes its concerns about the marine ecosystem in the Strait and how the mill's effluent may affect the multi-million dollar fishery for lobster, scallops and other fish, will now be addressed. 
'There's still obviously that big elephant in the room, being Boat Harbour and the Boat Harbour closure," Giffin said. Boat Harbour is the estuary where Northern Pulp currently pumps its treated effluent, and the Nova Scotia government ordered it shut down by January 2020. 
"We still support that closure," she said, noting the PEIFA is not against the mill itsel

'Continue to be strongly opposed'

P.E.I.s' provincial government is pleased with the decision for a new assessment of the plan, Premier Dennis King and Fisheries Minister Jamie Fox said in a written release Tuesday. 
"We commend the Nova Scotia environment minister for asking for more science-based information and welcome the caution expressed on this decision," King said in the release.

The P.E.I. Fishermen's Association's Melanie Giffin watches the Nova Scotia government's announcement that it is seeking more information before it can approve Northern Pulp's plan. (Steve Bruce/CBC)
"There are still many unanswered questions about the short- and long-term impacts on the Northumberland Strait ecosystem," Fox said in the release. 


In a written release Tuesday, P.E.I.'s Mi'kmaq leadership said it was "disheartened" the federal government would not do its own environmental assessment of the plant's plan.
"We are happy that this project will require an environmental assessment process," said Lennox Island Chief Darlene Bernard in the release. "As stewards of the environment, we're deeply concerned about the potential harm to the Northumberland Strait marine life this project could have created, lasting for generations." 
"We continue to be strongly opposed to this project," said Chief Junior Gould in the release. 
"The potential harm of the discharge into the Northumberland Strait could have devastating effects to both the cultural and economically significant fishing industry."

Ottawa won't do impact assessment on Northern Pulp effluent treatment plan

'A federal impact assessment is not the right tool for every type of project,' says federal minister


The Northern Pulp mill manufactures 280,000 tonnes of Kraft pulp annually and supplies pulp to manufacture common household products such as tissue, towel and toilet paper, writing and photocopy paper. (The Canadian Press)

The future of the Northern Pulp mill is firmly in the hands of Nova Scotia Environment Minister Gordon Wilson.
Wilson is scheduled to release his environmental assessment decision on the Pictou County pulp mill's plan for a new effluent treatment facility at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
On Monday, it was learned Wilson will have the final word on the matter after federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced he would not designate the project for a federal impact assessment.


"I am very much aware of concerns that have been raised related to the potential for adverse impacts from the project on marine life including a number of important questions raised by federal departments," Wilkinson said in a statement.
"It is my expectation that outstanding questions and information gaps will be answered through the provincial environmental assessment process. Should these issues not be sufficiently dealt with through the provincial process, I remain committed to ensuring that they are thoroughly understood and addressed through federal regulatory processes."

Mill's future

Prior to Monday's announcement, it was expected Wilkinson would make his decision on Friday, three days after Wilson's. The move means there will be no ambiguity around Wilson's ruling on Tuesday and whether it could be superseded by Ottawa.
If Wilson turns down the application, it will likely mean an end to the mill's operation. The provincial Liberals passed the Boat Harbour Act five years ago and it mandates that the mill no longer use the former tidal estuary to treat its effluent after Jan. 31, 2020.
Should Wilson approve the plan, which calls for a new treatment site to be built on the mill's property and treated effluent to then be discharged into the Northumberland Strait via a pipeline, the mill would need an amendment to the Boat Harbour Act to keep operating.
Mill officials have said it would take about two years to complete construction, but that the mill cannot go into hot idle for an extended period of time. Without an extension to continue using Boat Harbour, Northern Pulp cannot continue to operate.


Members of the forestry industry and union officials for mill workers have aggressively lobbied the government to approve the plan and grant an extension to the act, noting that thousands of jobs are at risk should the largest player in the industry go down.
On the other side of the debate are members of Pictou Landing First Nation, fishermen, tourism operators and others in Pictou County who have called for the deadline to be upheld, even if that means an end to the mill. The potential unknowns when it comes to the marine ecosystem, along with closing a painful chapter of environmental racism trump everything else at this point, they say.
Those same groups had called on the federal government to take over the assessment process, something that would have required an additional two years to complete before construction could potentially begin, because they argue the provincial government is in a conflict of interest as both regulator and a lender to the mill.

Federal scientist concerns

In his statement, Wilkinson said even if the province approves the project it would still be subject to and required to satisfy federal rules.
"A federal impact assessment is designed for the largest most complex projects where there is significant environmental risk in areas of federal jurisdiction," he said.
"A federal impact assessment is not the right tool for every type of project. Under CEAA 2012 and the Impact Assessment Act, pulp and paper mills are not designated projects. As such, these types of projects have not undergone federal environmental assessments."
Federal scientists, responding to requests for feedback from the provincial government as part of the public comment period for the environmental assessment focus report, raised significant concerns about the document, calling it lacking and in some cases relying on inaccurate information.
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First Nations accuse Canada of altering internal reviews of marine spill risk reports on Trans Mountain

Lawyers for Canada say allegations are unfounded, changes between versions of documents not substantive

Chantelle Bellrichard · CBC News · Posted: Dec 17, 2019 2:34 PM ET | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Elected Chief Leah George-Wilson of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation speaks at a news conference Monday in Vancouver. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
The Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish nations have accused Ottawa of altering internal government documents related to the risks of marine spills before once again approving the Trans Mountain expansion project. 
Details of these allegations were presented in the Federal Court of Appeal this week where four First Nations groups are challenging the re-approval of the pipeline, arguing that consultations with their communities once again fell short of the standard required. 
 A Federal Court of Appeal ruling in August 2018 quashed the initial approval of the pipeline expansion and forced the federal government to revisit the last stage of consultation with First Nations.
This week, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Squamish Nation, Coldwater Indian Band and a collective of Stó:lō bands are making their case about why they believe the renewed consultation efforts fell short in each of their specific communities. 
The Crown-corporation-owned expansion project would twin an existing 1,150-kilometre pipeline that extends from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., nearly tripling its capacity to move oil from Alberta to coastal B.C., and then to markets in Asia. The cost has been estimated to be between $7.4 billion and $9.3 billion.
Tsleil-Waututh's core concerns about an expanded Trans Mountain pipeline are an increase in tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet, impacts on the southern resident killer whale population and the risk of oil spills in the marine environment.
It says more research is needed on how to clean up a diluted bitumen spill and has concerns that it cannot be effectively cleaned up.
In 2018, Tsleil-Waututh commissioned three expert reports on these matters with the Squamish Nation. The nations, which have similar concerns about the project, submitted these reports to Canada during its reconsideration of the project. 
In court on Monday, Tsleil-Waututh's lawyer accused Canada of suppressing internal documents related to these expert reports, saying they weren't handed over to Tsleil-Waututh until after the revisited consultations were complete.
"Canada belatedly gave [Tsleil-Waututh] a revised version of a scientific conclusion that was altered… to downplay the scientific consensus and instead advocate for a pro-approval position," lawyer Scott Smith told the court on Monday. 
The Squamish Nation's lawyer Michelle Bradley raised similar concerns.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Tsleil-Waututh elected chief Leah George-Wilson said she was "extremely troubled" to learn about the allegations. 
"The federal government initially denied the existence of its own peer review documents of Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish expert reports," she said. 
In their argument about the reports being altered, Tsleil-Waututh's lawyer said after Canada re-approved the pipeline in June the nation came into possession of previous versions of Canada's internal reviews that showed the final version it got earlier had been altered to "support Canada's position and the ultimate outcome selected."
Tsleil-Waututh argued that previous versions of the reviews showed Canada's scientists agreed with the expert reports commissioned by Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish that found there is insufficient information on the behaviour of diluted bitumen to adequately address the risk of oil spill and clean up. 
The Westridge Marine Terminal, the terminus of the Trans Mountain pipeline, is seen in an aerial photo over Burrard Inlet in Burnaby, B.C. in June. (Jason Redmond/REUTERS)
In its court filings Tsleil-Waututh details the alterations made in the five versions of Canada's internal reviews it obtained. It says it wasn't until later versions that the line "While not required prior to the GIC [cabinet] decision" was added to documents. 
Tsleil-Waututh's legal team argued Canada was altering the reports to support its intention to re-approve the project and that this came at the expense of engaging in meaningful dialogue with the nation about its concerns. 
This, Smith argued, is evidence of an "egregious" and fatal flaw in Canada's approach to the revisited consultation. 

Canada calls allegations 'unfounded' 

Canada's lawyers, who started their submissions on Tuesday, said the allegations were "unfounded" and that "there's nothing nefarious going on" in relation to the internal documents called into question or the behaviour of government officials. 
They also objected to the characterization of the internal documents as peer reviews by government scientists. Canada described them as summary reviews used for the purpose of educating the consultation teams.
In their arguments, Canada's lawyers denied the government was suppressing materials and said sharing the drafts of the documents with Tsleil-Waututh illustrated their commitment to transparency. They also argued that any changes between versions of the documents did not reveal substantive changes. 
They told the court that Canada engaged in reasonable consultation with both the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations and that their applications to quash the approval of the project should be dismissed. 
They also asked the court to discount the arguments put forth alleging document suppression and alteration in its assessment of the adequacy of consultation efforts. 
Canada re-approved the twinning of the existing 1,150-kilometre pipeline from Edmonton to the B.C. coast in June after it revisited consultations with Indigenous communities as ordered by the Federal Court of Appeal ruling that quashed the government's initial approval of the project. 
In opening submissions to the court on Tuesday, Canada's lawyers said the renewed phase three consultation was done reasonably, adequately and fairly and said the shortcomings identified in the previous Federal Court of Appeal ruling were not repeated this time around. 
They pointed to the fact that Canada made amendments to project conditions as evidence of its responsiveness to the consultation process. They also pointed out that the revisited consultations were not applied just to the applicants in the Federal Court of Appeal case, but with all 129 Indigenous groups that stand to be affected by the project. 
Canada's lawyers argued that all four applications in the court should be dismissed but asked that if the court sides with any or all of the First Nations on their allegations of inadequate consultation, the court not quash the entire project again. They argued it would be disproportionate to set aside the decision to re-approve the pipeline and instead proposed alternative remedies to the court to consider. 
The hearings continue through Wednesday
'Brink of destruction': AFN national chief demands action on fading Indigenous languages at UN

Liberal government has passed legislation to 'reclaim, recover and maintain' Indigenous languages

John Paul Tasker · CBC News · Posted: Dec 17, 2019 12:41 PM ET | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

National Chief Perry Bellegarde speaks to the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde told a UN gathering today that many Indigenous languages face extinction without further action from the federal government and the wider international community.
Speaking Tuesday at a United Nations summit on Indigenous languages, Bellegarde said fewer than one in five Indigenous people in Canada can hold a conversation in their traditional language.
He said because language is so closely tied to Indigenous culture, many First Nations, Métis and Inuit feel isolated and lacking a "vital connection to their ancestors."
"Our languages connect us all to our ceremonies, to our lands, to our waters and to our right to self-determination as Indigenous peoples," he told UN delegates gathered for a day marking the end of the International Year of Indigenous Languages. "We want our children to grow up with these rich and beautiful languages.
"But there is a very real danger that our Indigenous languages will not survive another century. For our languages to survive they must be taught ... Work with us to help bring Indigenous languages back from the brink of destruction."
After centuries of colonialism meant to assimilate Indigenous people and strip them of their unique cultural identities, Bellegarde said some progress has been made in the last few years thanks to elders teaching their languages to young people eager to reclaim part of their identity.
He said the number of Indigenous language speakers is now starting to "slowly, slowly" grow again, but more action is needed to repair the damage done by residential schools, where English and French were forced on Indigenous students.
The federal Liberal government has sought to bolster the number of Indigenous language speakers through the passage of Bill C-91, legislation designed to help communities "reclaim, recover and maintain" Indigenous languages — some of which are spoken by fewer than a few dozen people.
Indigenous Service Minister Marc Miller also addressed the UN on Tuesday. He acknowledged how dire the climate is for Indigenous languages in Canada right now, but he pointed to C-91 as a way forward.
"In Canada, we have taken significant steps towards reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. If we do not act now to protect these beautiful languages, many of us will not hear it for ourselves in the years to come," he said, speaking in Mohawk.
Miller, who is a non-Indigenous anglophone from Montreal, has been learning Kanyen'kéha (or Mohawk) for three years. He has said he spends a few hours each day trying to master the complicated Iroquoian language, which is spoken by Indigenous peoples in southern Ontario and Quebec and upstate New York.
"I look forward to seeing the work continue with all Indigenous partners in Canada for the co-implementation of the [languages] act in a spirit of mutual trust and respect," he said.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller listens to chiefs as they speak during a session at the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld (THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The legislation establishes the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages, a new federal entity meant to protect and promote such languages as Cree, Ojibway, Oji-Cree, Mohawk, Mi'kmaq, Michif (the native tongue of some Métis) and Inuktut, among dozens of others that are still spoken in Canada with varying levels of fluency.
Three out of four of the 90 different living Indigenous languages in Canada are said to be endangered.
The new office will be tasked with: planning "initiatives and activities" to restore and maintain fluency in Indigenous languages; creating technological tools, educational materials and permanent records of Indigenous languages, including audio and video recordings of fluent speakers; and funding immersion programs.
The office also will undertake further research on existing and extinct Indigenous languages.
Bellegarde said he'd like to see bilingual language programs for schoolchildren to encourage early development.
"Bill C-91 is such an important tool. We said to governments that you should expend as many resources to revitalize and bring back fluency to our languages ... as you did trying to eradicate them," Bellegarde told CBC News Network after the speech. "This is very important to our survival."
While stopping short of granting any particular Indigenous language official status on a par with English or French, the bill allows for the translation of federal documents into Indigenous languages and interpretation services to "facilitate the use of an Indigenous language in the course of the federal institution's activities."