Hantsport Paper Mill To Close Next Month

It's another blow to the sturggling pulp and paper industry in Nova Scotia. The mill in Hantsport will close next month throw 135 workers out of a job, saying it is succumbing to the same competitive pressures that plague most plants in the industry. A letter to employees posted on the website of Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company says it hoped a restructuring of operations last year and changes to pricing would make the Hantsport plant sustainable. But the company says challenges in the marketplace, competition from plants using newer and more efficient technology, and rising operational costs are too difficult to overcome. It says 135 people will lose their jobs, though upwards of 40 employees will be moved to other companies within Scotia Investments, an investment holding company. The news comes a little more than a month after the former NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill in Point Tupper resumed operations after a year-long closure.