Yet despite added steps to treat wastewater, the plan to restart the mill continues to involve discharging treated effluent from the Northern Pulp mill into Pictou harbour. The plant, which opened in the late 1960s, made kraft pulp — a key ingredient for making toilet paper and other paper products. It was mothballed in January 2020 after the province banned the mill from dumping effluent near a local Mi’kmaq community. Pictou Mayor Jim Ryan questioned why it took so long for the company to propose cleaning up the mill's environmental footprint. "As far as I'm concerned, they burned one too many bridges," he said. "There would be very little tolerance for any of the effluent — treated or untreated — to go directly into the harbour."