Miramichi River

Things Have Not Changed In 183 Years

On September 10, 2008 the following news appeared in the local newspaper, the Miramichi Leader:
UPM STEP CLOSER TO DISMANTLING PAPER MILL by Daniel Martins
Finnish forestry giant UPM ­Kymmene has placed ads in pro­vincial newspapers announcing its registration for an environment impact assessment (EIA) so it can move ahead with the decom­missioning its closed mill in Miramichi.
“What they’ve registered for is a project that will decommission that entire area,” said Danny Stymiest, a project manager of the Environ­ment Department’s project assess­ment and approvals branch, who has been assigned to that particular case.
“It’ll take all the buildings down, everything, so you’ll have basically a brown field when you’re done.”
The ads, which appeared in the Telegraph-Journal and Times and Transcript last week, announced the company registered the decom­missioning and accompanying EIA with the department on April 28. No such ads appeared in the Mi­ramichi Leader.
The ads say the site’s process equipment, related building shells and ancillary infrastructure, will be decommissioned. Aside from the main mill property, where most work will occur, it will also include nearby water systems, such as wastewater treatment lagoons, wa­ter supply system and pipelines.

Chris Allison, CEP Local 689 presi­dent, said upon reading the notice placed in the Times and Transcript that the removal of the water pipeline to the area would make the site “basically rendered useless.”
He questioned what effect that would have on potential buyer inter­est.
“I don’t know why they would want a piece of land,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense with no water supply, if there’s anybody buying it. Maybe no­body’s buying it. Maybe it’s all a lot of unnecessary hype.”

Southwest Miramichi MLA Rick Brewer said he had no information about any potential buyers for the site, and had heard nothing on the subject from Business New Brunswick.

The following is an excerpt from the book, 

“First History of New Brunswick”

Published in 1825:  Written by Peter Fisher

“RIVER MIRAMICHI”

‘This is one of the finest rivers for lumber in the Provinces. Its bank’s, as well as the banks of the river streams that fall into it, are covered with pines of the finest growth which appear to be almost inexhaustable, for although lumbering has been prosecuted on this river to a great extent for a number of years, there is still abundance found by going a little back from the water.’
‘It is indeed the main source of the trade of the large County of Northumberland. One hundred and forty-one thousand three hundred and eighty-four tons of timbers were shipped at the port of Miramichi in 1824.’
‘Upwards of three hundred sail (sailing ships), load annually in Miramichi.  The timber is paid for part in specie, and part in British and West-India goods and provisions.’
‘A stranger would naturally suppose, that such a trade must produce great riches to the country: and that great and rapid improvements would be made. That large towns would be seen in commodious and elegant houses, extensive store and mercantile conveniences, in public buildings for ornament and utility, good road and improved seats in the vicinity of the sea-ports, with Churches, Kirks, Chapels, etc.  All these with many other expectations would be but a matter of course.  But here he would not only be disappointed, but astonished at the rugged and uncouth appearance of most part of this extensive county.’

‘The wealth that has come into it, has passed as through a thoroughfare to the United States. The persons principally engaged in shipping the timber have been strangers who have taken no interest in the welfare of the country; but have merely occupied a spot to make what they could in the shortest possible time.’
‘Instead of seeing towns built, farms improved, and the country cleared and stocked with the reasonable returns of so great a trade; the forests are stripped and nothing left in prospect, but the gloomy apprehension when the timber is gone, of sinking into insignificance and poverty.’ ”

That is how it was as far back as 1825! 

Should our elected representatives learn from our past history of allowing foreign companies to set up business in our province and extracting resources with no regard to the environment and future use of  the land by New Brunswick citizens? 

Of course they should.  Will They? 

Only if we, the citizens of New Brunswick, tell our M.L.A’s and M.P.’s that they must stop implementing short term policies in order to get re-elected to office and to put into place resource management policies that will benefit all residents of New Brunswick now and in the future.