The Nova Scotia Tories say the province has fallen short in its response to the impending closure of the Northern Pulp mill and are calling on the premier to appoint an all-party committee to travel “the province to seek solutions.”
“It would be irresponsible of us, as elected officials, to sit back and do nothing," said Tory Leader Tim Houston during a news conference at Province House on Thursday.
"It has been total mismanagement at the highest level.”
Joined by his forestry critic Tory Rushton, the pair took direct aim at the nine-member Forestry Transition Team struck by Premier Stephen McNeil. Both said the group that meets weekly and oversees a $50 million transition fund has failed to provide a solid plan for the thousands of mill and forestry workers that are preparing for Northern Pulp to close at the end of the month.
But many questions remain about the long-term goals and plans of the committee, said Houston. The team has not provided weekly updates on its progress.
The mill started issuing layoff notices on Wednesday.
Plan should have been in place long ago: Houston
“Families won’t know how they’re going to pay their mortgage or afford groceries, and businesses don’t know if they can meet payroll or make payments on their heavy equipment,” said Houston.
The Tories are pitching the all-party committee as a group that would work with the province and the forestry transition team. Rushton criticized the committee for having only three industry representatives and accused the group of being too insular and not consulting enough with industry players.
The premier announced the transition team on Dec. 20 when he pledged Boat Harbour Act would be upheld, requiring the mill to stop pumping effluent into Boat Harbour on Jan. 31. Northern Pulp failed to meet the five-year timeline requiring the company to meet the province's environmental requirements for its alternative effluent pipe into the Northumberland Strait. Houston said there was plenty of evidence to show that the company wouldn’t meet the deadline and McNeil ought to have had a plan in place months ago to manage the fallout of the mill’s closure.
The committee has announced two projects, including a $7 million plan to aid silviculture workers and a $1.5 million transition fund to support retraining for about 200 workers from either the Northern Pulp mill or across the broader forestry sector.
'This is not an issue for politics:' McNeil
The Tory leader said he had worked to try to avoid what he called an 11th-hour showdown between the company and the province by urging the premier to include firm deadlines in the Act for the company to follow. Last April he said he also urged the premier to work with the party to come up with a Plan B but the premier refused.
Cabinet has only met once since the premier announced last month that the Boat Harbour closure deadline wouldn't be extended. The group is normally scheduled to meet weekly and ministers are supposed to be available to speak to the media.
The premier balked at the all-party team, saying that the committee, which includes four deputy ministers, was deliberately picked to be non-political.
"This is not an issue for politics," said McNeil. "We have to respond now, it’s not good enough to travel around the province. We know some of the issues and that’s why we’re making these investments because the industry has told us these are the kinds of things that will help us in the short-term and here are the long-term opportunities."
But Houston remains unconvinced, saying McNeil is dictating his plan without proper consultation and accountability to the forestry sector and the public.
“What we have today is nothing but a government that is scrambling. It is irresponsible that this government let it get to this, but we remain willing to help,” Houston said.
RELATED: Bitterness and despair: The human toll of the Northern Pulp mill closure
