Donkin Archives - Nova Scotia Advocate

News release: Community coalition calls on NS’s Environment minister to take action on Donkin Mine noise and methane pollution

May 25, 2021

Media release: At 2pm today, the Cow Bay Environmental Coalition and their local MLA Brian Comer will meet with NS Minister of Environment and Climate Change Keith Irving to address the low frequency noise and methane pollution from the ventilation fans at the Donkin Mine. The coalition is composed of dozens of families impacted since the coal mine ceased operations in 2020.

Donkin mine: “It’s just a matter of time before somebody gets injured or killed”

February 20, 2020

There have been 12 rockfalls at the Donkin coal mine in Cape Breton in the span of three years. Danny Cavanagh, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour worries that neither the mine owner nor the Nova Scotia Department of Labour are dealing effectively with safety issues.

Glimpses of Westray – Donkin Mine company fires workers speaking out about safety

December 12, 2017 3 Comments

Sometimes I think I should change our name from NS Advocate to something like the Daily Broken Record. I’ve been writing about the safety of the Donkin Mine since my Halifax Media Co-op days. Now there are claims that when one third of the workforce was laid off recently, the company targeted those miners who had expressed concern about safety.

Labrador Riverkeeper visits Nova Scotia to raise alarm about Muskrat Falls

November 15, 2017

Roberta Benefiel, founding director of Grand Riverkeeper, Labrador, is visiting Nova Scotia to remind us that for the people who live there Muskrat Falls is an environmental disaster that will poison traditional food sources and flood indigenous lands. She believes that through the Maritime Link this is Nova Scotia issue as well. “There may not be that many of us, but people do live here. We need to put a face to these people,” Benefiel tells the Nova Scotia Advocate.

Op-ed: Stephen McNeil needs to go beyond Harper targets on climate

August 18, 2017

Nova Scotia is one of Canada’s most emissions-intensive provinces. Peggy Cameron wrote an open letter to Stephen McNeil pleading to change that. “You need to say “no” to highways and pipelines that increase our use of fossil fuels. Then you need to tackle this short list: increase renewables for Nova Scotian use, not export; shut down coal-fired generating plants; incentivize regenerative agricultural practices; stop clear-cutting and pesticide-spraying; promote afforestation and value-added production; establish a province wide integrated transportation network; and create a net-zero-carbon building programme.”

US owner of Donkin mine faces troubled future

February 13, 2016

Back home the American owner of the Donkin mine is facing a mine closure, a potentially very costly dispute with shareholders, lawsuits, and a general move away from coal. No wonder its shares tumbled by 80 percent in 2015.

Safety record of Donkin Mine operator causes concerns

February 3, 2016 1 Comment

The safety record of US coal mines operated by the new owner of the Donkin mine is worrisome. That’s why unionization is crucial. “When there is no union there and a worker speaks up, I would hope that the company would listen, but they answer to their shareholders. They have to make money, and sometimes they sidestep these issues.”