Newfoundland says it didn't mean to expropriate the paper mill

Newfoundland and Labrador rushed to expropriate AbitibiBowater's assets before the company could hold a pre-bankruptcy fire sale.

The province really wanted the timber and water rights back, as well as a hydroelectric power station, but during the rush, the government accidentally expropriated the Grand Falls-Windsor mill itself.

Now the government is on the hook for decommissioning the mill and cleaning up the environmental contamination.

How did this happen? Well in the rush of expropriation, the land surveys were botched and the area that the government claimed mistakenly included the land on which the mill sits.

Premier Danny Williams said he is embarrassed by the turn of events, but he can live with them.

"It was something I wasn't happy with when it happened, but it was an innocent mistake that was made by an official in the department," Williams said. "As simple as that."

Because the expropriation bill swiftly passed through the house, no one in Premier William's government, nor the opposition, reviewed the surveys thoroughly enough to catch the error.

Williams said the environmental costs could be enormous but no bureaucrats will be disciplined and no politicians will be punished for the error.

Source:

N.L. mistakenly expropriated paper mill (CBC)