The Nova Scotia government has reached a deal with Resolute Forest Products to keep its Bowater Mersey paper mill operating. The five-year package amounts to $50 million dollars in total. Premier Darrell Dexter says $25 million of the deal will be a forgivable loan to Resolute. Dexter says that money is intended to make the mill more efficient and become more innovative. "In the end, I believe that in the newsprint industry, it's going to be the lowest cost mills that are going to be the ones that survive and once the newsprint industry reaches an equilibrium those companies will make money...but you have to get there first," He says the province will also spend $23.75 million to buy about 10,000 hectares of woodland from the company. Meanwhile, Resolute's Canadian Spokesperson Pierre Choquette called it good news for the South Shore and the industry. "You look at the way the industry has been affected by the economy over the past couple of years and you look at the demand going down as well. So it's no secret that the most competitive, low cost mills will be the ones that survive," The agreement includes $1.5 million for workforce training through the Productivity Investment Program, the province's plan for economic growth. The investment allows employees to upgrade their skills between 2012 and 2014, as a result of capital improvements to the mill.
