A controversial scrap metal recycling facility is expected to come up for discussion Monday night at Saint John council.
Coun. David Hickey wants the province to take action against the American Iron and Metal (AIM) facility.
The facility, located on the city’s west side, has been the site of two workplace fatalities in the past seven months.
Hickey plans to bring forward a motion asking council to write a letter to the provincial government “calling on their action specific to AIM’s operations in order to protect workers and our community.”
“It is time for AIM to step up and stop its Saint John operations and for the Province of New Brunswick to suspend its operating license until a new operating agreement is in place to protect the community and prioritize the safety of Saint John workers,” Hickey wrote in the background to the motion.
Hickey said the facility has “long created operational conflict” and claims the Saint John location remains “one of the most unregulated and unsafe workplaces of the 98 various AIM sites world
But getting the province to suspend AIM’s approval to operate might be easier said than done.
Last week, a spokesperson for the Department of Labour said the approval is related solely to environmental requirements.
“Those would not factor into a workplace incident of this nature,” spokesperson Paul Bradley wrote in a statement.
Bradley noted that WorkSafeNB, which investigates workplace incidents, does have the ability to issue a stop-work order against “any process or machine that they deem to be of immediate risk to workers’ safety.”
That is exactly what happened after the most recent incident on June 30, according to a spokesperson with WorkSafeNB.
Laragh Dooley said a stop-work order was issued for the piece of machinery involved in the incident — a press roller for preparing for recycling.
“The stop-work order will be lifted only once our evidence suggests it is safe to operate all rollers,” Dooley wrote in an email on July 6.
“WorkSafeNB would only shut down an entire facility when unsafe or unhealthy working conditions are observed without acceptable controls in place or to allow an investigator to gather evidence after an incident.”
Meanwhile, Dooley said the investigations into both workplace incidents continue, noting that “complex investigations” such as fatalities can take 12 months or more to complete.
