A Saint John advocacy group is calling on the city to take a leadership role concerning a controversial recycling facility on the waterfront.
Members of Liveable Saint John appeared before the city’s public safety committee on Wednesday to discuss American Iron and Metal.
The appearance comes as AIM Recycling takes the province to court to have its operating licence reinstated following a catastrophic fire in September.
“We understand it’s possible AIM could resume operations. We want to summarize what the risks are to public safety and how the city could take a more active role,” said spokesperson Raven Blue.
Members of the advocacy group have been pushing to have the facility permanently shuttered and moved to a different location.
Blue said they have been getting a lot of feedback from community members who say they have been impacted by the operation.
“Impacts include things like their physical health, their mental health, their quality of life,” he said.
Residents reported respiratory illness, lost sleep, anxiety, and depression they said are linked to the facility.
Blue went on to outline a series of items he said the city can push for in the event AIM is granted permission to resume operations.
“Such as moving to a Class 1 status for their licence, improved monitoring and enforcement, more stringent regulations,” he said.
As part of a long-term solution, the city can work with other partners to facilitate a relocation plan and neighbourhood remediation, he said.
Other suggested action items include working with Liveable Saint John to gather data and working with partners to define a set of guidelines for managing the long-term community impacts of port activity.
The group also wants the city to review a 2011 arrangement which sees Saint John Energy supply electricity to the scrap metal recycling facility.
Coun. David Hickey, who chairs the committee, said he is pleased with the city’s advocacy efforts to date and hopes staff will review what the group brought forward.
“I think any return to business close to as usual on the AIM site is a failure of government at every level,” said Hickey.
