Many will breathe a sigh of relief that NewPage in Point Tupper was granted protection from creditors days before its shutdown. But that is only one factor in seeing the plant running again. What will be the next step? And the next?
On Friday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Judge David MacAdam approved a settlement and transition agreement that stakeholders are hoping will help in attracting a new buyer for the plant.
The agreement means the parent company, in Ohio, will give the mill US$25 million to help it complete remaining work and maintain equipment during the shutdown, already underway. The money is also to fund legal proceedings and assist the search for a buyer.
A staggering 1,000 jobs are at stake. But also, residents, Nova Scotia Power says, can expect to pay higher rates if this, one of its largest customers, is suddenly out of the picture.
The province is going to bat for the company, spending money to see that the mill's woodlands operation remains - that will see stockpiling of wood, forestry training and silvicultural work. They will also enlist a specialist to look into new markets for products such as high-gloss paper.
That sounds hopeful, but there's a need to look further down the road too.
Part of the reason for the slide is a world with less demand for certain paper products. Nova Scotia is a province with many one-industry towns, and when change comes they're often a step behind. You can beat a dead horse, but eventually we need to find other ways to move on.
The province investing in something: we've seen that before, at the former TrentonWorks, for example. What rose from the ashes there though was an entirely new setup, with an eye on the burgeoning wind-energy industry.
Doubtless, a refit of many industrial operations is a titan effort, not something done overnight. But now's the time to think about the future so we aren't going through this again a few years from now.
