Kim Masland

Nova Scotia government officials will know if they’re the successful bidder for the Northern Pulp timberlands following an auction Friday, but it will be a few weeks before the result is publicly known. “This is a very confidential process,” Natural Resources Minister Kim Masland said. …The auction is part of the creditor protection process Northern Pulp has been moving through. Nova Scotia is bidding on the company’s 162,000 hectares of timberlands and a nursery and seed orchard in Debert. “This has economic benefit and certainly we want to add that to our Crown land,” said Masland. …Premier Tim Houston said he has no issue with Macer but it “wasn’t the assessment of the province” that Macer’s initial bid “should win the day.” …Masland said her government is committed to supporting the forestry industry, and trying to buy the Northern Pulp timberlands is one way to do that.