MLA Warns of Recession in Cumberland
The MLA for Cumberland North launched a volley of harsh criticism in her assessment of Premier Stephen McNeil’s handling of the soon to close paper mill in Pictou County.
In a year-end interview on Six Rivers Radio, Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin levelled her criticism amid growing anger over the premier’s handling of Northern Pulp.
Smith-McCrossin says Paper excellence, the company that owns Northern Pulp, operates numerous mills, including one in environmentally conscious British Columbia.
The MLA says Paper Excellence can work with the Premier of BC and its strong stance on environmental protection, but it cannot work with Nova Scotia’s premier. She added, “It is a complete failure of him and his government.”
Smith-McCrossin linked the mill issue with the current crisis in health care saying, “He can’t get the job done. They are incompetent and they need to be gone. It is that simple.”
The MLA says the impact will be felt in Cumberland County, across the province, and even "the ivory towers" of Halifax.
She says forestry related businesses will be wiped out. It is not just Northern Pulp that will close. She says numerous small companies have been rendered worthless by the premier’s proclamation, noting that some companies have been family owned for two and three generations.
The MLA warned of impending layoffs, province wide. She says it will be devastating in Cumberland County and “will put us into a financial and economic recession.”
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