Eyes turn to AIM's other N.B. sites for moving scrap through N.B.
Company owns sites in Bathurst, Shediac and Heron Bay
A metal recycling company whose operations are under scrutiny in New Brunswick has said in court documents that it is seeking another location to ship scrap.
American Iron and Metal's port facility in Saint John has been inoperable since a major fire in September. It had increased use of its Moncton facility, which has direct rail access, but earlier this month it consented to no longer accept new scrap at the site as part of a plan to bring it into fire-code compliance.
The company, known as AIM, has a range of other locations around New Brunswick, but in court documents filed last month it says it is looking for another place to move its material.
The filing says it's taking steps to reduce the amount of scrap at its sites in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton by attempting to "secure a transload facility that would allow materials to be transported to a new location for shipment," getting approvals from the province for that facility and securing more railcars.
Transloading refers to moving goods from one method of transport, such as trucks —to another — such as rail.
Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie outside AIM's property in the industrial park. (Pascal Raiche-Nogue/Radio-Canada)
The document doesn't say what locations are being considered. The company did not respond to a request for comment this week.
Beyond its locations in the three major cities, AIM owns sites in Bathurst, Shediac and Heron Bay, which includes the former community of Dalhousie.
Both Shediac and Heron Bay sites have unused railway lines.
The location in Shediac is within the Scoudouc Industrial Park, an area added to the town as part of local governance reforms that was once serviced by a CN Rail spur line.
CN Rail didn't answer whether the spur line remains active or whether there have been any discussions about using it, directing questions to AIM.
On Tuesday, several vehicles could be seen on the site, including an excavator near piles of material.
Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie said the property was a scrapyard before AIM owned it. Property records show AIM has owned the site since 2013.
Caissie said it was his understanding the site had been undergoing decontamination work. It remains zoned for heavy industry, which would allow a scrapyard.
American Iron and Metal's property in the Scoudouc Industrial Park, part of the municipality of Shediac. (Denis Mazerolle/Radio-Canada)
Caissie said it would be up to the province to issue approvals for a scrapyard, not the municipality.
"[We] haven't heard anything from this company recently, or even in the last few years," the mayor said in an interview.
The provincial government didn't provide an interview or answer questions Wednesday about whether AIM already has, or is seeking, approvals for a scrapyard at the Scoudouc site.
Caissie said his understanding is that CN had no intention to resume service on the spur line, which he said hasn't been in use for years and would require work by CN to make it usable again.
AIM owns the former paper mill site in Dalhousie in northern New Brunswick, now part of the community called Heron Bay. (Serge Bouchard/Radio-Canada)
In Heron Bay, the company owns large parcels where the AbitibiBowater paper mill once stood.
Mayor Normand Pelletier told Radio-Canada that people in that area wonder whether AIM will want to use the site as a scrapyard.
Pelletier expressed concern about the possibility of a scrapyard at the site close to homes, suggesting a more feasible location for the company would be the Port of Belledune, which also has rail access.
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With files from Pascal Raiche-Nogue
American Iron & Metal gets another month to comply with national fire code at 3 N.B. sites
Company consents to have scrap piles in Moncton, Fredericton and east Saint John within limits by Feb. 7
American Iron & Metal has been given an extra month to comply with national fire code requirements at three of its New Brunswick facilities and will stop accepting scrap material at those sites as of Friday, until they do, according to a new agreement with the province.
Under the consent order, AIM must bring the scrap piles at its Moncton, Fredericton and east Saint John sites to within National Fire Code limits on size and distance by Feb. 7 and "shall maintain these requirements thereafter."
The agreement, signed and filed with the Moncton Court of King's Bench late Wednesday, comes just as AIM was scheduled to challenge the fire marshal's orders that set mid-January as the bumped-back deadline for its sites to be in compliance.
AIM was originally given until late-December, based on inspections, following the massive fire at the west Saint John port site on Sept. 14 that burned for roughly 40 hours and prompted a city-wide shelter in place order because of hazardous smoke.
The company planned to argue Friday that it could not meet the Jan. 11 and Jan. 13 deadlines because its Saint John port location is out of service and it has limited capacity to transport the material out of the province by truck or rail. But the Moncton hearing has been cancelled as AIM has withdrawn its appeals.
AIM must also meet and maintain the national code requirements regarding access for fire department vehicles by Feb. 7, according to the court document.
It's unclear what will happen if the company doesn't meet the new deadline.
The Department of Justice and Public Safety did not provide an interview or respond to questions from CBC Thursday.
In a news release issued later in the day, it said 10 salvage facilities were originally given until Dec. 21 to comply, "however several needed more time and extensions were given on a case-by-case basis."
Minister confident salvage dealers will comply
"We have been working with salvage dealers across New Brunswick to ensure they are operating within the parameters of the National Fire Code to reduce the risk of fires and ensure the safety of all New Brunswickers," said Public Safety Minister Kris Austin.
"I am confident all 10 will be in compliance."
AIM will not accept any further shipments of scrap from licensed dealers in New Brunswick until the three facilities in question have the capacity to receive new scrap without exceeding the National Fire Code limits.
In addition, AIM shall not accept shipments of scrap from outside New Brunswick "indefinitely," according to the department's news release, although the court order itself does not stipulate a timeframe.
Does not affect west Saint John port site
The "negotiated settlement" does not involve AIM's west Saint John port facility, the department noted. Austin revoked the company's licence for that site last week, saying that its response to a scathing task force report on the fire "does not substantively address the numerous community health, safety and environmental risks and impacts arising from AIM's operations at this location."
Department spokesperson Allan Dearing did not say whether that decision could be reversed or under what circumstances it could be.
The department previously said the minister's decision is final and cannot be appealed, but the company has 90 days to apply for a judicial review.
The
task force that reviewed the Sept. 14 fire at AIM's west Saint John
port site found the scrap piles were two to 2½ times what the national
fire code prescribes. (Submitted by Ed Moyer)
Fredericton lawyer Romain Viel, who is representing AIM, declined to comment Thursday on behalf of the company.
Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon is satisfied with the agreement.
"AIM always has that opportunity to take its case to court. So you want to make sure that you are dealing fairly with them and that, you know, you're moving forward through a process, but that, you know, [AIM owner and CEO Herb Black] does at the end of the day … have to comply. There's no other way around it," she said.
"Hopefully that will be the last change in the dates so that by February the 7th we know that he's on track or else he's not going to be on track. I think that's fair ball to give him a little bit of time. But you know at the end of the day I still want to make sure that [it's] following the regulations."
The other seven salvage dealer sites subject to fire marshal orders include:
- Arm & Sons Tire – 1620 Rte. 11, Alnwick (Barryville district).
- Brown's Auto Salvage – 6041 Rte. 10, Grand Lake (Upper Salmon Creek district).
- Gallant Enterprises – 200 Rossignol Rd., Edmundston.
- Greer's Mountain Salvage – 32 Timothy Ave., Hanwell.
- Flower's Salvage – 1554 Rte. 10, Capital Region rural district (Noonan district).
- Neighborhood Recycling – 1635 Berry Mills Rd., Moncton.
- Simpson Truck & Tractor Parts – 120 Paddy's Hill Dr., Saint John.
AIM goes to court over scrapyard compliance orders in 3 N.B. cities
Court challenges to fire marshal orders filed in Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton
A scrap metal company is going to court to challenge a series of orders from the New Brunswick government to bring three of its sites into compliance with the fire code.
American Iron and Metal is challenging fire marshal orders for its sites on Toombs Street in Moncton, Recycling Street in Saint John, and Carman Avenue in Fredericton. The Saint John location is on the east side, not its west side port site.
The sites were among 10 the province said were issued compliance orders after inspections in early December.
American Iron and Metal, known as AIM, says in a court filing it cannot meet deadlines to comply because its port location is out of service and it has limited capacity to transport the material out of the province by truck or rail.
The filing says the fire marshal orders aren't in the public interest as it will result in additional truck traffic in the communities, cause an increase in scrap metal at other sites or sent to landfills, and the volume of material at AIM's sites can be reduced if given enough time.
A judge is set to hear the case Friday in Moncton.
On Tuesday, Romain Viel, the lawyer representing AIM, said the company has no comment.
The cases were filed last week before a separate decision from the province to revoke the Montreal-based company's licence for the Port Saint John location where a fire broke out in September.
After a task force report on that fire, the province carried out inspections of 87 scrapyards around New Brunswick. The province says 10 were not in compliance and were issued orders to correct various issues, though it has not said what issues were found at which sites.
Three of the 10 locations are operated by AIM. The court filings offer details about what the inspections found and the resulting fire marshal orders.
The scrapyard on Toombs Street in Moncton was ordered to develop a fire safety plan.
It was also ordered to ensure piles of material are stored in compliance with the 2015 National Fire Code of Canada. That code restricts piles of scrap to no more than six metres in height.
American Iron and Metal's scrapyard off Carman Avenue in Fredericton is one of three locations identified in the court cases. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
It was also ordered to have at least 30 metres space around stored products and vegetation.
Other steps included no-smoking signs in the outdoor storage area, portable fire extinguishers in vehicles, and to install fencing.
Similar orders were issued for the Saint John and Fredericton sites.
AIM's filing shows it planned to provide the fire plans before Christmas. It also provided photos showing no-smoking signs and fire extinguishers.
However, it said it needed more time to reduce the materials on site.
It said materials from Saint John and Fredericton would have to be moved to Moncton, shipped out by rail, and then the material at the Moncton location reduced.
Glimpse into AIM operations
The filing offers a glimpse at how AIM's various sites operate.
It says it runs "feeder" sites in several areas where vehicles, household appliances, machinery, and electronics are sorted and materials separated.
Metal is baled and sent to processing facilities, which include the Moncton site or the port, to be prepared for shipment outside the province.
Its Moncton site is described as the only salvage yard in the province with direct access to rail, other than the port.
However, the port site hasn't been operational since the fire. The court filing says that's resulted in material being redirected to the Moncton site.
Residents in Moncton have complained about increased noise and larger piles of scrap material at the site since the Saint John fire.
Railcars filled with scrap metal at AIM's Moncton site in November. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
The court filing says the volume moved through Moncton is dependent on CN Rail. It says it's currently limited to 30 railcars per week, with each car carrying about 80-90 tonnes of scrap metal.
The court filing says the company's main concern was the ability to meet the deadlines in the fire marshal orders to reduce the volume of material stored at the three sites.
AIM was given until Dec. 20, Dec. 21, and Dec. 22 to reduce the material stored in Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John respectively. That deadline was moved back to Jan. 11 in Moncton, and Jan. 13 for Saint John and Fredericton after a meeting with provincial officials.
Michael Cormier, AIM's vice-president for the eastern region, states in an affidavit that compliance would be "impossible" based on his experience and the availability of trucks and railcars.
Cormier says the company can advise its suppliers it cannot take additional material.
It would also seek to secure additional railcars and transport trucks, which would determine whether the material stays at AIM sites or is redirected to landfills around the province.
The provincial government declined to comment on the cases.
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New Brunswick revokes licence for AIM's Saint John scrapyard after fire
Decision follows damning report into Sept. 14 fire that sent toxic cloud of smoke over city
The New Brunswick government has revoked American Iron and Metal's licence for its Saint John port scrapyard.
The decision came almost a month after a damning task force report examining a massive fire in September at the company's waterfront location on the west side of the city.
"I have been weighing this matter with care by thoroughly reviewing the task force report, as well as AIM's response from the past week," Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said in a news release Friday.
"As minister responsible, I am not convinced that AIM has adequately addressed these serious concerns. As such, it is clear to me that it is in the public interest to revoke their licence."
The release says the decision cannot be appealed but can be subject to judicial review. The company has 90 days to ask a judge to review the decision.
The move came as a relief for Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon. After the fire, Saint John council had called for AIM to be shut down and relocated.
While noting the company still has 90 days to potentially challenge the move in court, Reardon believes the province has sought to deal with it as quickly as possible.
"I'm really pleased that how swiftly it's come along that we have this decision," the mayor said Friday.
Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon believes the province has sought to deal with the issue as quickly as possible. (Hadeel Ibrahim/CBC)
Saint John resident Bryan Wilson, who lives about 800 metres from AIM's site, was excited by the news, given how the operation had impacted residents living nearby over the years.
"Who wants to live next to a place that's exploding?" Wilson said.
"Who wants to live next to a place that's on fire? That doesn't even start to talk about the noise from the material being shredded, the noise from the material being moved and loaded, and the dust that comes from the facility? It has a terrible impact on the community around it and how how people perceive it."
Wilson, though, remains cautiously optimistic, wondering about the details of what comes next.
"But for now I'm just going to rejoice," Wilson said.
The fire on Saint John's waterfront sent a large cloud of smoke over the city for hours. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
The site is on land leased to the company by Port Saint John.
A spokesperson for the port issued a statement Friday saying it is aware of the minister's decision but because there is a 90-day period where it could be challenged, it has no other comment.
The Sept. 14 fire burned in a pile of scrap metal for 40 hours, sending a toxic cloud of smoke over the city and prompting a shelter-in-place order.
In the aftermath, the province suspended AIM's approval to operate pending an investigation. A task force of provincial and port officials was launched, which issued its findings in a Dec. 5 report.
While the exact cause of the fire wasn't determined, the task force report says it was likely a rechargeable battery. Rechargeable lithium ion batteries were found at the site.
The report found the city's fire department wasn't sufficiently equipped to fight the fire, AIM didn't have a proper emergency plan, the scrap piles were more than the six metres prescribed by the National Fire Code of Canada, the operation carried a "significant risk of explosion and fire," and there was a high likelihood of another fire in the future.
"The location of the AIM operation, in the middle of the Saint John community, adjacent to the harbour and a residential neighbourhood, is entirely inappropriate given its now known hazards and risks," the report says.
The fire also left the site contaminated.
"The health and safety of our community and port users remains our top priority and we are working to ensure the full remediation of the AIM site is undertaken by the lessee," port CEO Craig Estabrooks said in a statement.
Public
Safety Minister Kris Austin says the company's response to findings of
the fire investigation largely addresses its commercial interests and
makes assertions of future intentions. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
Austin had given the company until midnight on Dec. 22 to respond to the task force's 12 findings.
In a letter Austin sent to AIM on Friday about the licence decision, the minister wrote that the company's response "does not substantively address the numerous community health, safety and environmental risks and impacts arising from AIM's operations at this location."
Austin said the company's response to the task force report proposed developing a plan to comply with the fire code, something the minister wrote "should have always occurred."
The task force found the piles at the site were two to 2½ times what the code prescribes.
"The AIM Response attempts to minimize future risks and hazards, contests the findings of the Task Force and Investigation Reports, and asserts that AIM's operations at this site are no worse than other industrial operations elsewhere," Austin wrote in the letter to the company.
The minister says the company's response largely addresses its commercial interests and makes assertions of future intentions.
Austin also referred a history of problems highlighted in the task force report at the site at 1 Protection St.
The task force's report says "many alarm bells rang in the lead up to the fire," including 181 explosions and 22 fires since 2011.
It said WorkSafeNB had investigated 21 incidents, including two deaths.
The province has not released the company's response to the task force findings.
CBC has requested comment from the company.
It's unclear how many employees worked at the site.
Other sites inspected
AIM operates multiple other locations around New Brunswick, including another in Saint John at 65 Recycling St.
Earlier this month the province inspected 87 scrap facilities around the province, saying it found 10 were not in compliance in various ways.
The province hasn't disclosed what specific issues were found at each of the 10 sites. They were initially given until Dec. 21 to fix them, but now that that deadline has passed the province has said the sites are getting extensions.
Among the 10 sites are AIM's second Saint John location, as well as its locations in Moncton and Fredericton.
A spokesperson for the province said last week that the 10 sites would be "remediated in the coming weeks," but didn't say what the consequences would be if a site didn't comply.
Residents near the Moncton location have raised concerns about the site in recent months, saying it has become busier since the fire in Saint John.
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With files from Mariam Mesbah
Attn Romain Viel I just called
David Amos<david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | Wed, May 8, 2019 at 4:58 PM |
| To: romain.viel@mcinnescooper.com, IHolst@calgarypolice.ca, leanne.murray@gnb.ca, oldmaison <oldmaison@yahoo.com>, andre <andre@jafaust.com>, "martin.gaudet" <martin.gaudet@fredericton.ca>, "mike.obrien" <mike.obrien@fredericton.ca>, "mike.obrienfred" <mike.obrienfred@gmail.com>, sallybrooks25 <sallybrooks25@yahoo.ca>, premier <premier@gnb.ca>, "andrea.anderson-mason" <andrea.anderson-mason@gnb.ca>, "carl.urquhart" <carl.urquhart@gnb.ca>, "steve.murphy" <steve.murphy@ctv.ca>, "Jacques.Poitras" <Jacques.Poitras@cbc.ca>, "Jack.Keir" <Jack.Keir@gnb.ca>, "greg.byrne" <greg.byrne@gnb.ca>, "brian.gallant" <brian.gallant@gnb.ca>, "denis.landry2" <denis.landry2@gnb.ca>, "robert.mckee" <robert.mckee@gnb.ca>, "robert.gauvin" <robert.gauvin@gnb.ca>, "Arseneau, Kevin (LEG)" <kevin.a.arseneau@gnb.ca>, Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, news <news@kingscorecord.com>, news <news@dailygleaner.com> | |
| Cc: "David.Raymond.Amos" <David.Raymond.Amos@gmail.com> | |
https://davidraymondamos3. Wednesday, 8 May 2019 Too Too Funny If anyone would understand why Chucky Leblanc and McInnes & Cooper deserve each other it would be Justice Richard Bell https://twitter.com/ David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos Replying to @DavidRayAmos @Kathryn98967631 and 47 others Too Too Funny If anyone would understand why Chucky Leblanc and McInnes & Cooper deserve each other it would be Justice Richard Bell https://davidraymondamos3. #nbpoli #cdnpoli https://www.youtube.com/watch? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ingrid Holst <IHolst@calgarypolice.ca> Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 02:31:39 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: Yo Chucky howcome your buddy the Attorney General Ms Blais and her Deputy Ms Keating worry more about the money in McCorkill's estate that they do about the sexual abuse of women and children? To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> I am currently out of the office returning Monday, August 19. If you require immediate assistance please contact reception at 428-5990. Thanks! Ingrid ---------- Original message ---------- From: "Murray, Leanne" <leanne.murray@mcinnescooper. Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 23:32:35 -0300 Subject: Out of Office: Yo Chucky howcome your buddy the Attorney General Ms Blais and her Deputy Ms Keating worry more about the money in McCorkill's estate that they do about the sexual abuse of women and children? To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> I will be out of the office on vacation from August 5 to 20, 2013, inclusive, and will have limited access to email during this time period. For immediate assistance from August 5 to 9, 2013, please contact Lynn Davidson at 453-0929 or by email at lynn.davidson@mcinnescooper. For immediate assistance from August 12 to 16, 2013, please contact Margie Loisel at 458-1034 or by email at margie.loisel@mcinnescooper. soon as possible upon my return. McInnes Cooper Canadian Business Law Firm and Lawyer Jaime Connolly in Fredericton!! 285 views Charles Leblanc Published on May 6, 2019 https://www.mcinnescooper.com/ Romain Viel Romain Viel 506.453.0920 Email: romain.viel@mcinnescooper.com Office: Fredericton Romain is a bilingual lawyer in our Fredericton office. His practice currently focuses on litigation, in particular, commercial litigation. Romain also practices in the fields of bankruptcy and insolvency, asset recovery, property law and municipal law. Romain also has considerable experience with mortgage sale and foreclosure matters. Romain is from Fredericton and obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of New Brunswick. Prior to beginning his legal studies, Romain obtained two undergraduate degrees with distinction, one in Kinesiology and the second in Business Administration. Romain is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of New Brunswick, and l’Association des juristes d’expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick. He also sits on the Board of Directors for the Service de garde l’Envolée Daycare in Fredericton as well as the Organizing Committee for the 2017 Jeux de l’Acadie. In his spare time, Romain enjoys keeping up with two young daughters, running, playing hockey and golf and following the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Blue Jays. Services Banking and Financial Services Bankruptcy and Insolvency Estates and Trusts Insurance Litigation Municipal Law Real Estate Industries Cannabis Construction & Property Development Financial Services Government & Institutions Education Bachelor of Recreation and Sports Studies, University of New Brunswick (2009) Bachelor of Business Administration, University of New Brunswick (2009) Juris Doctor, University of New Brunswick (2012) Bar Admissions New Brunswick (2013) Representative Work McCorkill v. Streed, Executor of the Estate of Harry Robert McCorkill (aka McCorkell), Deceased (2016) June 9, 2016 Client: Sister of the Deceased Value: Estate appraised at $250,000 On June 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an application for leave to appeal a New Brunswick decision invalidating an NB man’s collection of coins and goods to US-based National Alliance in his will on the basis the information the National Alliance disseminates and its purpose are against Canadian public policy. The estate was appraised at $250,000. First retained in July 2013, McInnes Cooper represented the successful party throughout. The decision sets a national precedent, confirming that there is no room for individuals to gift over their estates to groups that promote hate speech in Canada. | |
Former
N.B. Power CEO Keith Cronkhite was fired in July 2022, but was still
New Brunswick's highest-paid government official that year. (Roger Cosman/CBC News)
Dr. Jennifer Russell, former chief medical officer of health, resigned in October 2023. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
Premier Blaine Higgs earned a total salary of just over $200,000 for 2022. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
Why should they? After all they put their beefs in writing