• 1864 – 50 acres of land is set aside for the 159 members of the tribe which became known as Pictou Landing First Nations
• 1964 – Scott Maritimes decides to build a mill at Abercrombie Point. It’s established that the mill will need to discharge up to 25 million gallons of toxic wastewater per day as a byproduct of the pulping process. The province agrees to provide adequate supplies of clean water to the mill as well as a place to discharge the wastewater after its use in pulping. Federal regulations prohibit the discharge directly into the Northumberland Strait and Boat Harbour is established.
• 1965 – The Pictou Landing First Nations chief and council state concerns about odour. The province and Scott Maritimes take them on a trip to Saint John, NB, to show them there is no smell. They agree in principle while on the trip.
• Oct. 21, 1965 – A resolution is signed for an immediate lump sum payment of $60,000 in consideration of the permanent loss of fishing and hunting revenue and other benefits derived from the use of the land, with a final settlement to be subject to further negotiations between the province and Indian Affairs. It was also established that a slipway for boats be established and remedial action taken if a septic condition arose on Pictou Landing.
• September 1967 – Mill begins operating.
• 1986 – Pictou Landing First Nation begins action against the federal government for breech of fiduciary duty in the case of Boat Harbour.
• 1991 – The federal government agrees to negotiate a settlement with Pictou Landing. The province promises to abate the adverse effects of the wastewater when the agreement with Scott Maritimes expires in 1995.
• July 1993 – An agreement with the federal government is reached out of court. Pictou Landing First Nations is supposed to receive $35 million.
• 1995 – There is no alternative site identified by the time the Scott Maritime agreement expires; the province promises Boat Harbour will be closed by December 2005.
• 2000 – A study by Kimberly Clark shows the cost of building a replacement treatment facility will cost between $48-60 million. A plan is launched to build a pipeline directly to the channel instead.
• 2004 – Mill ownership is transferred to Neenah Paper.
• Dec. 31, 2005 – The province and Neenah state that a pipeline is not feasible as it would not likely pass environmental assessment. They ask for an extension to December 2008.
• May 2008 – Province agrees to extend licence after December 2008 on a month-to-month basis.
• June 2008 – The business transfers to Northern Pulp. The province asks that Pictou Landing not protest the extension of the licence to Dec. 31, 2008, and promises not to extend it beyond that date without further consultation.
• Nov. 19, 2008 – Band council chief writes to province advising them they will not agree to any further extensions.
• March 2009 – The band council begins meeting with a negotiator, but meetings halt following the June 2009 provincial election. Talks don’t resume until September, when the current minister of transportation asks for time to study the issue.
• April 19, 2010 – Pictou Landing First Nations asks the province to terminate the licence, effective June 30. The date passes with no change.
• Sept. 9, 2010 –A lawsuit is filed against the province and Northern Pulp.
• 2014 – An effluent leak in the pipeline near Indian Cross Point sparks a peaceful protest that seeks a commitment from the province for firm deadlines in finding a more suitable location for Northern Pulp’s effluent and the remediation of Boat Harbour. Agreement in principle signed by Pictou Landing First Nation chief and Minister of Environment.
