The power boiler at the Nackawic pulp mill ran for the last time on Wednesday, according to the president of the union representing the mill workers. Since then, Grant Charlton, president of Unifor 219, told CTV News workers have been occupied cleaning and preparing equipment for a restart of operations — that as of yet has not been announced. The mill will go into “temporary idling,” according to AV Group NB Inc., but what happens after that is uncertain. For workers who have spent decades at the mill, Charlton said it’s an eerie feeling working in silence without the noise of normal operations. “It’s a big part of people’s lives. And with that people are kind of going through different stages of grief,” he said. In the meantime, questions continue about whether the mill will be heated — something all three provincial parties are pushing for. “We believe that Aditya Birla should keep that idling warm because they will face an EIA if they don’t, and that will cost them more time and money than it would to keep the facility warm,” Premier Susan Holt said Friday. But not everyone is convinced the threat of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is enough. “They’re saying it’s not their mill. Well, there’s going to be an environmental catastrophe if that mill isn’t a warm idle,” Progressive Conservative MLA Richard Ames said in an interview. He said it would be a catastrophe if the mill’s heat turned off due to the presence of chromium — while Charlton said heat would keep the equipment in better condition. Ames wants to see more done. “There’s no plan in place. I’ve been calling for a task force to search globally for investors and partners to make this mill turn into a new reality,” he said. Premier Susan Holt said so far, the AV Group NB Inc. hasn’t indicated whether it plans to heat the mill, but Charlton said he was told from the start the company did not plan to. “We have not been given any communications from the company changing that position,” he said. In an email, Mike Legere, AV Group Canada’s director of Government Relations and Communications said, “We have not committed to a decision on the configuration of the idling at Nackawic with regard to heating.” Meanwhile, NB Green Party leader David Coon said the situation is parter of a larger concern. “What a mess. The context for this is this government has no vision for the forestry industry, for the forestry sector,” he said. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
