For many Saint John, N.B., residents, American Iron and Metal losing its operating licence was the only possible outcome after a massive fire on the site in September that burned for over 24 hours and covered the city in thick toxic smoke. The full environmental impacts of the fire are still not fully known.
“I’m happy to hear it,” says resident Sara Babin. “I was following obviously when the incident happened so I am glad that was the decision that was made.”
On Friday, New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Kris Austin announced he was revoking AIM’s salvager dealers operating licence following a report completed by a task force looking into the Sept. 14, 2023, fire. AIM has 90 days to apply for a judicial review of its licence being revoked, with no word on if they have done so yet.
Residents have long pushed for the company to be removed from its port property due to a number of issues, including explosions. Those living close to the site on the city’s west side have enjoyed the past few months of peace while the company's operations have been suspended.
That includes Ashley Bird, who has lived just up the road from the facility for the past five years.
“I legitimately shed tears,” said Bird, when learning about AIM’s licence being revoked. “At first, I was confused because I was like, this can’t actually be happening. It’s been something that I have wanted for so many years that when you read it you’re just like rereading it for the loophole. You’re like, what’s going to happen next, this cant be real, and then you read the word 'revoke' and it was awesome.”
While residents rejoice in the thought that AIM could be removed from the port property for good, Raven Blue of Liveable Saint John says not so fast.
“The announcement on Friday was about their salvage dealer’s licence, which is only a small fraction of the actual operation,” claims Blue. “They have a licence also with the Department of the Environment and that’s the licence that manages the majority of their facility, which is their shredder and the piles of metal, their metal recreation facility, so there has not been any announcement about that portion of the operation.”
Since the fire, Blue and his group have been campaigning to help get AIM away from the residential area.
“People’s property values have been impacted, people’s quality of life has been impacted, there’s probably a lot of development that could have happened that could now happen,” Blue says on the impacts AIM has had on growth in the community.
Residents say finally seeing it leave the property would bring added life to the area.
“Developers would want to develop there, people would want to renovate their homes, people would want to reinvest so it’s going to help a lot of people there is no question,” he admits.
While it is a dream of Blue and many others in the city to see AIM removed from its waterfront site, he isn’t sure if it is going to happen.
“My expectations are actually really low,” says Blue. “I think that what’s most likely is that the province is going to try and find a way for them to continue operating in some fashion. Whether it’s in that location or in a modified licence, and I think that’s why they are being very kind of piece meal in the way they are delivering information.”
“They are making it sound like we are doing something significant, but in fact we haven’t heard from the Department of the Environment,” Blue continues. “We haven’t heard from Gary Crossman, our Minister of Environment since the fire, he hasn’t made any statements about it. The fact that they have been so quiet it is really concerning to me they haven’t really said anything on what that department is planning to do.”
Residents are pleading with the government to ensure this isn’t the case.
“The AIM taskforce report was absolutely flawless in how it was set up,” Bird says on the report that should prove why the scrap metal company cannot continue at its current spot. “It said that this event could have been absolutely catastrophic and it also said there’s a decent chance we are going to experience another one AIM stays open. The city doesn’t want it, the residents don’t, and us west siders really don’t want it.”
If they do reopen, Bird says she won’t be sticking around to see how things play out.
“The last fire in September was my selling point,” she says. “If they open back up I am not going to be a resident here.”
CTV News did reach out to both the Department of Public Safety and Department of Environment for clarity on the different licences, and was told by the Department of Public Safety there would be no further comments at this time.
