Page 32 - The Pulp Mill Comes to the Strait

ISSUE : Issue 25

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1980/6/1

An3A( /ay, we held a special meeting of our town council. We agreed that a pulp mill would be a suitable thing for us to go af? ter. We went down to Sydney to see Dr. Hugh Gillis and gave him the story and background, and he wrote it in good form and we got a brief printed. We sent out a- bout 3000 of them .to all levels of govern? ment, try to stimulate the government into some kind of action. Mulgrave got off the first shot. It was later that we formed the Four-County Development Association (Richmond, Guysborough, Inverness, and An? tigonish) to bring something to the Strait. But we knew this: that you can't tell a big industry where to locate. All you can hope for is to let them come and look at the site--the deep water, the harbour--and analyze the situation as far as water and all the other factors that go toward es? tablishing an industry. We realized that, and for that reason we didn't say, "All right, we want the pulp mill in Mulgrave here"--although it would come to the Strait as a result of the water being on this side, only two miles over the hill here. (Do you mean that, the pulp mill that came to Point Tupper depends on water that comes from the Mulgrave side of the Strait?) Yes. They had to have the water. It would take 35,000 gallons of water to process one ton of pulp. And there's 20 million gallons of water going across the Strait every day, to run that mill • and it's going across from the lakes back of Mulgrave. It's piped under the Strait • a 23-inch pipe--over to the pulp mill. (They're not getting it from the Port Hawkesbury side?) No. There's a high min? eral content in the water over there, which would require expensive filtration. There's suitable water over here. There was so much involved. You'd hardly believe all the work. Believe it or not, there were people trying to stop the pulp mill from coming to the Strait. Why would they do that? Well, because crown lands were a great thing for a government in power to have, to feed a little bit to their friends, in leases. They'd get a lease on so much land, cut the pulp off it, and sell the pulp. Even as far away as British Columbia and up in Quebec--an un? written agreement amongst the companies in New Brunswick and Quebec that they would not enter the field down here. It was a very convenient place for them to come-- not every year, perhaps every second or third year--come into this'area and set up a very, very good price for the pulp for the people who would go in and get it out and load it on a boat here, take it up to the mills in Quebec. You'd say, why did they do that? When they'd get a bad winter up there, they couldn't get their stuff When in Sydney, stop by our new sho'vroom at 325 Vulcan Ave., 50,000 sq.ft. of furniture, appliances, all under one roof. /dlUICMtZ /houuroom/ & uuorehou/e :E?AI AND EASTERN M|)STCOMPANY ??' pENio?p pm If you're 60 or over this card entitles you to some extra privileges. CENTRAL AND EASTERN TRUST CDMPANY 225 Charlotte Street, Sydney 539-9210 ??eiMPlli Adjacent Dundee Golf Course gulf and cottages Located on a particularly beautiful site overlooking the Bras d'Or Lake, Dundee Golf Course is a new professionally designed nine hole public golf course. DUNDEE GOLF COURSE AND COTTAGES Fully Equipped Housekeeping Cottages One & Two Bedroom Units Heated Swimming Pool - Natural Play Area Dining Room - Lounge Tennis Courts - Pro Shop Golf Car Rentals - Golf Cart Rentals UUNUEb CaOLh UUURSt ANU UOTTAtiES ?" i i K.ai Reiiuaib - i are located in Dundee, Cape Breton, just 17 miles East of Port.Hawkesbury (32)

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