The pulp mill in northern Nova Scotia. Photo by Dr. Gerry Farrell
In 2016, this mill signboard proclaimed "This is our time." Photo by Joan Baxter
The picturesque waterfront of the historic town of Pictou with Northern Pulp as its backdrop. Photo by Dr. Gerry Farrell
In recent years, the mill has repeatedly failed its emission tests. Photo by Dr. Gerry Farrell
The pulp mill is a constant and smelly backdrop in Pictou. Photo by Dr. Gerry Farrell
For the Pictou Landing First Nation, Boat Harbour was once a pristine estuary so precious they called it "A'se'K", or "the other room." Photo by Joan Baxter
Jonathan Beadle of Pictou Landing First Nation says headaches are common after visits to Boat Harbour. Photo by Joan Baxter
Effluent from the pulp mill in Boat Harbour. Photo by Joan Baxter
Once a very popular recreational area, after the pulp mill effluent began flowing Lighthouse Beach at Pictou Landing became paradise lost. Photo by Joan Baxter
Donald Burt MacKenzie is an engineer who worked on the construction of the mill in the 1960s, and he says it was intended to run about 20 years. It has now run 50. Photo by Joan Baxter
Robert Christie of Pictou Landing was once a leading critic of the mill but today, as a member of the mill's hand-picked Community Liaison Committee, often defends it. Photo by Joan Baxter
Alexander MacKenzie has tried every kind of protest against the mill pollution - and governments' failure to compensate everyone in Pictou Landing - that he can think of. Photo by Joan Baxter
The late Pictou County artist, Susan Tilsley Manley, who died of cancer in 2016, created this marvelous quilt to profile her friend, Alexander MacKenzie.
Acclaimed folk singer & songwriter Dave Gunning takes the Clean The Mill message to the NS Legislature, decrying the mill's pollution & also pulp forestry, clear cutting & glyphosate spraying. Photo by Joan Baxter
Wentworth Vallue in Nova Scotia has enormous potential as an eco-tourism destination all year round. Photo by Joan Baxter
In June 2016, clear cutting began atop one slope in Wentworth Valley on land belonging to Northern Pulp (purchased with a loan from the NS government). Photo by Joan Baxter
Such clear cutting did not bode well for plans to develop Wentworth Valley into an all-year eco-tourism destination. Photo by Joan Baxter
In October 2017, 600 supporters of healthy forests take to the streets in Halifax to protest clear cutting, pulping and chipping of Nova Scotia's Acadian forests. Photo by Joan Baxter
Protestors criticize NS Department of Natural Resources for allowing pulp mills & industrial forestry interests to set policies that harm forests & woodlot owners. Photo by Joan Baxter
Citizens call for government policies to improve health and value of Nova Scotia's forests, to increase rural prosperity. Photo by Joan BaxterFor fifty years, a pulp mill in northern Nova Scotia, Canada, has polluted air and water, shaped forest policies and politics in the province, spawned controversy and caused deep divisions among people in the area. The book, “The Mill – Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest” meticulously documents the history of mill and gives voice to people whose lives have been touched by both the mill itself and the pulp industry in the province. By weaving these personal stories into the historical narrative, the book brings to life five decades of citizen-led campaigns to have the mill clean up its act, and to have government protect the people and environment. The author is grateful to Dr. Gerry Farrell and Marianne Fraser, who in 2014 organized a photo exhibit to show the effects of the mill on people in Pictou County, for the use of their photos in this gallery. With special thanks to Dr. Farrell for the use of his photo on the cover of the book.
