Former employees of the now-shuttered Northern Pulp mill in Pictou, N.S., will see their pension fund made whole and fully wound up due to the recent purchase of the company’s woodland assets.
The assets secured a buyer at auction for $235 million, which includes enough money to repay the $37 million owed to the union members’ defined benefit pension plan.
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Unifor represented 220 members at Northern Pulp prior to its closure in 2020 and continued to advocate for them through the closure, creditor protection and sale processes, according to a press release.
“This is a small but important victory for all workers as the bankruptcy process typically places workers and their pensions at the bottom of the list of creditors or off the list entirely,” said Lana Payne, Unifor national president, in the release. “Current Northern Pulp pensioners can rest easier knowing their retirement is secure, and those who will retire in the future can now count on the pension they earned being there for them.”
Unifor also advocated for legislative changes to protect workers’ pensions by supporting a private members’ bill that gives pension plan members super-priority during plan windups and bankruptcy proceedings. The bill received royal assent in 2023 but won’t take effect until 2027.
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