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June 24, 2026
Joan Baxter (Credit: https://www.joanbaxter.ca)
Nova Scotia’s forests belong to everyone. But Joan Baxter says the decisions shaping them have long been influenced by a small group of powerful forestry interests.
Nova Scotia is at a turning point. Across the province, decisions are being made about how public forests will be managed for decades to come – from public land harvest plans to forestry policy, conservation commitments, and the future of industries that depend on healthy forests.
For journalist and author of The Mill Joan Baxter, understanding those decisions starts with understanding the network of companies, organizations, and government relationships that have historically shaped forestry policy in the province.
Baxter says one place to look is WestFor Management Inc., an organization created to coordinate industrial forestry operations on public land in western Nova Scotia.
“If you want to know who the major players are, the power brokers are in the Nova Scotia forestry industry and the forestry lobby, just look at the members of WestFor,” Baxter said.
“The membership of WestFor tells you just about everything about who’s running the show in Nova Scotia. Add to that Port Hawkesbury Paper and Irving and then you’ve pretty much got the major players.”
WestFor and the industrial forestry network
WestFor and the industrial forestry network
WestFor was formed by wood-consuming mills to coordinate planning, harvesting, reload construction and silviculture activities on public land.
The organization represents a group of companies connected to industrial forestry and timber supply in western Nova Scotia.
Baxter argues that WestFor’s membership provides a snapshot of where influence has historically existed within the province’s forestry sector.
WestFor shareholders (Credit: westfor.org)
Baxter says she believes the companies connected to the industrial forestry industry have pushed for continued access to public land for softwood harvesting.
“And those are the major players and they want more softwood,” she said. “They do not want diverse forests. They do not want protected areas. They want to be able to log business as usual – faster and more of it.”
The forestry sector has pushed back against criticism, arguing that harvesting supports rural economies, provides employment, and supplies local industries.
WestFor says its operations provide work for forestry contractors and maintain a wood supply chain that provides materials for processing facilities.
However, publicly available information does not provide a full picture of how many jobs depend specifically on timber managed through WestFor, how much wood is required to maintain those jobs, or how those economic benefits compare with other possible uses of public forests.
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The revolving door between government and industry
The revolving door between government and industry
On top of WestFor’s influence, Baxter argues that the relationship between forestry companies and government has shaped policy decisions in Nova Scotia for decades.
“One of the reasons that pulp politics has been able to flourish in this province is because there’s been a rotating door between industry and the Department of Natural Resources over the years,” she said.
She pointed to several examples of individuals moving between government and industry roles.
“One of those is Allan Eddy who was very prominent in the department for a while and is now very prominent at Port Hawkesbury Paper,” Baxter said. “Jon Porter who came from the Resolute Pulp Mill in southwest Nova who then basically became head of forestry policy within the Department of Natural Resources.”
Baxter describes this movement between sectors as part of a broader pattern where a small number of people with industry experience have helped shape forestry policy within government.
Jonathan Porter
Allan Eddy
Public forests and public assets
Public forests and public assets
Public land makes up a significant portion of Nova Scotia’s forests.
Nova Scotia has about 1.53 million hectares of public (Crown) land — and roughly 65% of it is currently managed for forestry, either through mixed-use forestry or high-production forestry. Only about 35% of public land is fully protected from forestry activities.
These lands are owned by the Crown on behalf of the public, but they are managed through provincial government policies and laws that determine what activities are allowed.
Baxter says that while those forests belong to all Nova Scotians, decisions about their use have often been influenced by private forestry interests.
“We own those. Those are public lands. We all own those forests,” she said. “But at the moment those forests are basically in the hands of private interests who want to cut.”
The debate over public land management has expanded beyond timber harvesting due to increased understanding of the forest ecosystem. It now includes conservation, biodiversity, recreation, climate resilience, and businesses that depend on intact, standing forests.
Examples include maple syrup production, tourism, recreation and other forest-based industries that rely on maintaining healthy ecosystems over time.
The Hutchinson Acres maple farm dispute with the Department of Natural Resources has become one business example of that broader debate. The company argues that their success is one proof of how public land could support a forest-based business model focused on keeping trees standing while creating jobs and economic value.
The conflict highlights a challenge facing many alternative forest-based industries: creating economic value from forests while competing within a system historically designed around fibre production.
The legacy of pulp politics
The legacy of pulp politics
Baxter’s criticism of Nova Scotia’s forestry system comes from years of reporting on the province’s pulp and paper industry.
In her book The Mill: Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest, Bexter examined the political history surrounding the pulp industry, and the long relationship between government and forestry companies.
She argued Nova Scotia has repeatedly relied on extraction-based industries as economic solutions, even as those industries have struggled with environmental and economic challenges.
The 2018 Lahey review of forestry practices attempted to shift the province toward ecological forestry — a model that would place greater emphasis on biodiversity, uneven-aged forests and long-term ecosystem health.
Baxter says the province has moved forward with parts of the forestry transition while leaving other recommendations behind.
“The industrial forestry part is being implemented,” she said. “But we’re missing the protected and conservation and ecological forestry part.”
A different measure of forest value
A different measure of forest value
The debate over Nova Scotia’s forests is increasingly about how value is defined.
A harvested forest produces timber revenue. A standing forest produces many other benefits that are harder to measure, including ecological services, recreation, tourism, and businesses that depend on standing forests.
Baxter argues the government's role should be to balance those interests rather than primarily supporting the industries that already have the strongest economic position.
“The role of government is as a regulator and not an enabler of big money and big moneyed interests,” Baxter said.
“Its job is actually to look after and be stewards of this province and help Nova Scotians steward this province for future generations.”
As Nova Scotia continues making decisions about public land, the debate is no longer only about how many trees are harvested.
It’s about how the province defines the value of the forests it owns – and who has influence over that definition.
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