Province puts Moncton, N.B., scrap dealer 'on notice'

When JoAnn McCarthy took her dog for a walk in her Lewisville neighbourhood Friday, she noticed the noise was worse than it usually is.

The Moncton, N.B., woman lives near the American Iron and Metal Company’s (AIM) scrap metal facility on Toombs Street and said the noise has been unbearable since last fall.

“All you hear is bang, crash, boom, back-up alarms, honking, people yelling. It’s just not pleasant at all,” she said.

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McCarthy, and her neighbours, have had their voices heard.

New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Kris Austin wrote a letter to AIM on May 23 warning them the province can and will revoke their licence if the Quebec-based company doesn’t address the issues found at the site.

“Last week on Friday I sent them a letter to inform that salvage dealer that they are now on notice. And I want the residents of Toombs Street to know that we take that very seriously. We have absolutely heard their concerns, we’ve outlined to AIM the issues that we find in that site and I have no problem if they do not comply to revoke their licence,” said Austin during Thursday’s question period in the legislature.

Austin's letter says in the past year AIM has violated the salvage dealers licensing act, has failed to comply with the National Fire Code of Canada and the operation has breached City of Moncton municipal by-laws.

As of April 10, the Department of Public Safety has received 90 complaints about AIM in Moncton, most of them concerning noise, vibrations, traffic, hours of operation and environmental concerns.

McCarthy and several of her neighbours gathered at Toombs Street last Friday and Saturday to protest.

She’s one of several people who live in the area that have voiced their concerns to CTV News over the past six months.

“AIM has had a lot of time to get their act together. I think the province and the city have given them more than enough time to do this and to help us,” said McCarthy.

McCarthy, and many who protested last weekend, believe the operation should be moved to a heavy industrial area, not near a neighbourhood.

“They don’t belong here. We don’t want people to lose their jobs. Obviously not, we don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want to have a peaceful neighbourhood and we don’t have that right now,” said McCarthy.

She recorded the sounds during her walk Friday and sent it to the Department of Environment and the City of Moncton.

Austin has given the company until June 14 to reply to his concerns in writing.

Romain Viel, the attorney representing AIM, told CTV News in an email the company has no comment.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.