Nova Scotia’s Appeal Court has upheld a court ruling that says the province must consult with a Mi’kmaq community about how public money is provided to the Northern Pulp mill’s effluent treatment plant.
In a unanimous ruling issued today by a three-member panel, Justice Joel E. Fichaud writes that the province’s funding agreements with the mill constitute government conduct with “a potential for adverse impact” on the Pictou Landing First Nation.
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Fichaud says that’s because the agreements and the funding they provide increase the likelihood the mill will discharge contaminants after the legislated Jan. 31 closure date of the current effluent treatment plant at Boat Harbour, N.S.
He says the potential impacts are “more than inconsequential” and require the government to consult with the Mi’kmaq.
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Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Timothy Gabriel ruled last fall that if the province becomes a financial backer of the effluent treatment plant, that raises questions on whether the funding will result in “upgraded safeguards” in light of what the people of Pictou Landing First Nation have endured.
In its notice of appeal, the province argued the judge “erred in law” by ruling the Crown must consult respecting the funding to the mill.