A second Nova Chemicals facility in as many days was the centre of a police investigation, as employees were filed out of the downtown Calgary office building Friday as officers investigated a suspicious package.
The Calgary Police Service received a call just before 9 a.m. Friday about a suspicious package along the transit corridor of 7 Ave S.W. between 9 and 10 streets in the downtown core.
The area was closed to all traffic, including pedestrians, and CTrain traffic was impacted, police said.
By 12:45 p.m. Friday, the situation in Calgary had been resolved, according to police, who said transit was operating normally and people were allowed back into the Nova Chemicals building.
The CPS said the investigation into the threat was ongoing, adding that it was determined the package did not pose a theat. Police would not say what the package was or if or how it was disposed of.
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The Calgary evacuation came one day after a threat was made Thursday against the Nova Chemicals plant near Joffre. As of 2:30 p.m. Friday, police were still on scene investigating what— if any — risk existed.
RCMP said Friday it was working with police in Calgary as it continued to investigate “a threat received by Nova Chemicals at multiple locations,” but would not say how many threats were received. They added it was “too early to tell” whether the incidents were related, adding investigators were working to determine whether there was any validity to the threats.
In an emailed statement Friday afternoon, Nova Chemicals said it received threats to two of its locations in Alberta and that the company was “co-operating fully with local police and the RCMP to investigate and resolve the situation.” A spokesperson said the company was unable to comment further as the investigation was ongoing.
RCMP did not provide details of the Joffre threat but said it needed to be investigated. Mounties did say the concern was for the plant itself, not the public.
On Friday night, police provided an update on their investigation in Joffre.
“RCMP have concluded their initial response to the threat received regarding the Nova Chemicals Plant in Joffre, and have determined there is no safety risk to the general public or employees of the plant,” police said.
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Police did not say what kind of resources had been deployed to investigate the threat.
“RCMP take matters such as this very seriously and have taken appropriate action to determine the validity of the threat and ensure the safety of employees and area residents,” Cpl. Chris Warren said in a statement.
The plant, located about 21 kilometres east of Red Deer, is one the largest ethylene and polyethylene production complexes in the world and employs more than 700 people.
Global News reached out to Nova Chemicals on Friday for more information on the Calgary incident as well as how the threat has affected operations at the Joffre facility.
In a statement, the company said it was working with police but given it’s an ongoing investigation, was unable to comment further on the situation.
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