The Mill: Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest

by Joan Baxter

For fifty years, the pulp mill near Pictou in northern Nova Scotia has buoyed the local economy and found support from governments at all levels. But it has also pulped millions of acres of forests, spewed millions of tonnes of noxious emissions into the air, consumed quadrillions of litres of fresh water and then pumped them out again as toxic effluent into nearby Boat Harbour, and eventually into the Northumberland Strait.

From the day it began operation in 1967, the mill has fomented protest and created deep divisions and tensions in northern Nova Scotia. This story is about people whose livelihoods depend on the pulp mill and who are willing to live with the “smell of money.” It’s about people whose well-being, health, homes, water, air, and businesses have been harmed by the mill’s emissions and effluent. It’s about the heartache such divisions cause and about people who, for the sake of peace, keep their thoughts about the mill to themselves.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Canada, Environment

286 pages, Paperback

Published November 3, 2017

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be better spent as a documentary. While the author highlighted many atrocious acts of the government in bed with big business to ruin the natural environment of a portion of Nova Scotia, it seemed awfully repetitive. The same agreements and actors continually lying and deceiving everyone. The book could've been shorter or not written at all and been just as powerful (if not more so) as a documentary movie.

Also, and maybe most notably to me, was the commentary regarding the belief that the government has its citizens' interests and well-being in mind when creating policy or giving away taxpayer money. This book showed that that is far from the case, and makes me even more leery of government propping up business or industries in the name of economic development.

[Wendy Capron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baxter has pretty much exhausted my supply of righteous indignation. I can't imagine how the activists involved managed to keep going - for generations. The money given by the government to the pulp industry in Pictou, in one form or another, could have just about paid the salaries of the employees for the past 50 years and if the mill had been shut down (or never allowed in the first place), the province wouldn't be looking at many millions of dollars to clean up the mess that's been created. Good luck to the fishermen blockading the survey boats. Apparently, the government will never do the right thing.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an interesting look at the history of the mill and the politics of Nova Scotia around it. Definitely providing some food for thought. There is an obvious bias, but it seems sincerely held, and understandable.

[Kelly Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book hits close to home -literally. The degree of capitulation and the extent to which so many Nova Scotia governments made choices to support jobs and big business over the health of people and the environment is staggering.

[DJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

[Nutkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read, especially for Nova Scotians & other Atlantic Canadians!

[Daniel Macgregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and well researched. Highly recommend as it shows how big business is not only harmful environmentally, but also bad business.