Quote from Steve MacLellan on June 20, 2026, 2:39 pm

Officials with the Nova Scotia government and Pictou Landing First Nation are in talks about an alternative site to store contaminated sludge removed from Boat Harbour as part of the cleanup process of the former tidal estuary that for decades was used as the treatment site for a nearby pulp mill.

For now, however, the minister responsible is providing few details about the location in question.

“We’re currently doing the technical assessments to determine the viability of that site,” Public Works Minister Fred Tilley told reporters following a cabinet meeting Thursday.

“Until we determine that viability, we won’t identify the site.”

The cleanup of Boat Harbour since the closure of the Northern Pulp mill in 2020 has been delayed for years due to a variety of factors, including what to do with the sludge after it’s removed as part of the remediation process.

Although the province has federal approval to expand an existing on-site hazardous waste containment facility, that approval included a condition that the government explore alternative sites with Pictou Landing First Nation.

The chief and council for the community oppose the existing site because the storage cell is on land claimed by Pictou Landing First Nation. Last year they filed for a judicial review of the Boat Harbour cleanup plan. Among other things, there are concerns about the long-term risks of the proposed storage site and the hindrances it would create for the community to heal from what some people consider the province's worst example of environmental racism. |Read more|