Why Nova Scotians shouldn’t pay for old mine cleanups

Lately, our Premier and his political allies have been repeating the “Drill baby drill” slogan from south of the border, calling for more resource extraction but acting like it comes with no cost. 

Let’s be clear: we’re not against responsible resource projects. Done right, they can create good, stable union jobs with fair pay, benefits, and protections. But any project must protect our water, our environment and natural beauty, our communities and be done safely.

Here’s the reality: Nova Scotia taxpayers are already paying to clean up the mess from mining companies that walked away years ago. Sixty-eight (68) abandoned mine sites in our province still need cleanup. The financial bill will be at least $148 million, not counting the Boat Harbour cleanup. Just two sites, Montague Mines (Dartmouth) and Goldenville (Sherbrooke), will cost nearly $65 million because of dangerous mercury and arsenic contamination. Montague Mines ran from 1865 to 1940. For decades, companies took the gold, left toxic waste behind, and, as far as we know, never paid a cent to clean it up. Now, the cleanup will take three years, involving digging soil up to two metres deep, sealing it in containment cells, and covering other areas to prevent the poison from entering our water. 

So who’s paying for the clean up? We are – the workers and the public. They took the resources, pocketed the profits, and left town.

That’s why the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour is calling for strong Make the Polluter Pay laws. If a company drills, mines, or extracts here and damages our land and water, they, not taxpayers, should pay the cleanup bill.

Before our elected leaders rush to talk about more drilling or mining, they need to be honest about the actual costs and pass laws that protect our environment, our health, and our wallets. We will keep fighting for fair, common-sense rules so that industry cleans up its mess every single time.