Minister threatens to revoke AIM's Moncton scrapyard licence
American Iron & Metal has 2 weeks left to meet compliance demands
The New Brunswick government has threatened to revoke the scrap dealer licence for American Iron & Metal's yard in Moncton if the company does not meet demands by June 14.
Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said in a letter sent to the company on May 23 that he is "considering the suspension or revocation" of the licence for a long list of violations.
Austin said the AIM site on Toombs Street in Moncton has violated the Salvage Dealers Licensing Act, the Fire Prevention Act, the Unsightly Premises Act and Moncton municipal bylaws, and is not zoned properly.
"Basically, the issue is surrounding the intensification we've seen in Moncton since their previous licence … there's other issues in relation to a lot of the complaints we've received from citizens down there," Austin said to reporters at the legislature Friday.
Austin said he wants citizens to know he's heard their complaints about the scrapyard, saying the province is working on legislation to update the Salvage Dealers Act to give the Public Safety minister more power to revoke licences without notice.
"We've got them back in line, and we're going to continue to keep an eye on all our salvage dealers."
Montreal-based AIM also owns a scrapyard on land it leases on the Saint John waterfront, where a massive fire burned for two days in September. The province revoked the licence for that site in December.
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.
AIM's Moncton location, the subject of the letter, has been the subject of complaints from nearby residents over noise and smells. Throughout the year, AIM facilities in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton have been the subject of court cases and fire code breaches.
The company's lawyer, Romain Viel, said in an email Friday that AIM has no comment on the letter.
The most recent statement from Viel to CBC last week said AIM understands residents' concerns and is working to mitigate them, such as applying to the city to construct a sound barrier.
Letter lays out issues with Moncton site
The letter lists several reasons why Austin is considering revoking the licence.
He said operations have "intensified and changed" since AIM took over from the previous licence holder at the site in 2023. AIM was also found guilty of operating without a salvage dealer's licence in November, Austin said.
The site is also too close to a river, and appliances and debris fell off a pile toward the water.
Austin said the fire marshal found eight violations of the National Fire Code on Dec. 6 and ordered compliance.
On Jan. 3, Moncton found the site in violation of the city's Dangerous and Unsightly Premises bylaw. Austin said the city told him the site is now in compliance, but Moncton still has concerns with "the ongoing risks associated with the operations of the AIM site."
The company has not confirmed in writing that it hasn't imported metal from outside the province, as required by a court order in January, Austin said.
Austin ended the list of concerns by highlighting concerns from residents, saying the city of Moncton has received 189 complaints where citizens say they're "negatively impacted by noise, vibrations, intensified traffic, extended hours of operation, visual and aesthetic impacts of scrap piles, and environmental concerns."
Multiple complaints continue to be received each week, Austin said.
Additionally, the site is within 300 metres of two public parks, a playground, and a children's centre, all of which are against the Salvage Dealers Licensing Act and the Unsightly Premises Act. There are also 200 residential homes within 300 metres of the operation.
Austin ends the letter by saying he is giving AIM two weeks to address the concerns he laid out.
Corrections
- An earlier version of this story had the wrong date on Kris Austin's letter. It was issued on May 23, 2024.May 31, 2024 4:09 PM AT
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