American Iron and Metal (AIM) is taking the province of New Brunswick to court over compliance orders issued at three of its sites in the province aimed at reducing safety risks.
AIM’s sites in Moncton and Fredericton, as well as its location in East Saint John on Recycling Street, were subject to compliance orders related to safety measures following inspections in December 2023.
These were related to various measures including fixing broken fences and reducing the size of piles of scrap.
The company, as well as the other salvage dealers who were issued the orders, had an initial deadline of Dec. 21 to become compliant with the fire marshal’s orders.
AIM’s deadline for the Moncton site was extended to Jan. 11, with the two other sites having a deadline of Jan. 13 after meetings with provincial officials.
In court documents, AIM’s vice-president of eastern regions, Michael Cormier, said complying with the fire marshal’s orders in time for the deadlines would be “impossible” and that it created “an unreasonable requirement” for AIM.
On Friday, Public Safety Minister Kris Austin revoked the operating licence at AIM’s port facility on the west side of Saint John, because he said the company had not “adequately addressed” concerns raised in a report on a massive fire at the scrapyard in September 2023.
AIM’s port facility had not been operating since September, when an explosion caused a massive fire that burned for two days.
In the affidavit, Cormier said this caused a “cascading effect” on AIM, with more scrap being sent to the other sites.
With the port location no longer operational, AIM can only transport scrap via rail and transport trucks.
Cormier noted that AIM has taken measures to reduce the scrap heaps such as securing additional rail cars, but was facing several challenges in being able to reduce the amount of scrap within the deadlines.
Michel Durepos, who lives near AIM’s Moncton facility on Tooms Street, said the piles of scrap appeared much higher than the six-foot maximum outlined in the Fire Code of Canada.
He is part of a group of residents who have been calling for the site to be moved, due to safety concerns as well as odour and noise issues.
He can see AIM’s facility from his backyard.
“You hear the booms, you hear the smashing of the metal, you hear the picking up of the metal,” he said on Wednesday.
He said he doesn’t understand why AIM can’t meet compliance guidelines.
“If they’re able to pile up metal here within a matter of months to the point where it’s taller than our duplexes, to me they should be able to comply just as fast and get stuff under control,” he said.
David LeBlanc, who also lives near the Moncton facility, took issue with the extension of the deadlines to become compliant with the fire marshal’s orders.
“How is it in the public’s interest for (AIM) to have extended periods of time to continue operating out of compliance and continue to put us at risk?” he said.
“Their inability to plan properly and plan the scope of their operation is not our problem.”
Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon said she wants to see the East Saint John AIM site adopt all the province’s safety measures as soon as possible.
“I want to see those rules that the province has put in place followed. Period. I don’t care who it is, whether it’s AIM or anyone else,” she said in an interview on Wednesday,
“If the operation can’t follow those rules then I’m good with saying goodbye!”
Romain Veil, a lawyer representing AIM, told Global News the company had “no comment at this time.”
A representative for the Department of Justice and Public Safety said the province wouldn’t comment further as the matter is before the courts.
The company is set to appeal the orders in court in Moncton on Friday.