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Northern
www.northernsentinel.com
Volume 61 No. 37
Unifor wins chance to appeal RTA emissions Unifor announced on Friday that they have been successful in their filing of a judicial review of their appeal of Rio Tinto Alcan’s emissions permit which allowed the company to proceed without installing sulphur dioxide (SO2) scrubbers. SO2 at the modernized smelter is permitted to rise, from 27 tonnes a day to 42. “The union has been given standing to allow the board to consider a mitigation plan around possible ill effects of sulphur dioxide on human health,” explained Unifor 2300 President Sean O’Driscoll. “As an organization, we care about our members but we also care about the community at large. Anything to impact human health we’re going to be front and centre in ensuring the most appropriate mitigation strategies are put in place.” He said there will likely be hearings in the new year on this matter. He said the door is also not closed to potentially formally joining the appeal put forward by Emily Toews and Lis Stannus on the permit. O’Driscoll said the path forward is primarily up to Unifor’s legal team. He said the union fully supports modernization “but not at all costs.” Toews and Stannus recently concluded their own hearing process on their appeal of RTA’s approved environmental permit and await a decision. Rio Tinto Alcan has consistently stood by their decision not to install scrubbers, saying environmental reports the company has commissioned show the impacts from the SO2 will not significantly impact the health of people in the Kitimat area. The Sentinel did not receive comment from RTA in time for our print deadline. Within the arguments of this ruling is while there are environmental thresholds quantified for environmental health affects there is no thresholds relating to human health.
Community garden grows with gazebo.
/page 3 Town celebrates Queen’s long reign.
/page 9 PM477761
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
1.30 INCLUDES TAX
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Fish Derby Autumn Pow and Leah McConnell play with hula-hoops at Heritage Park during the Kitimat Fish Derby on September 6. The popular community event brought in all the usual staples of games, music and food. For results of the derby turn to page 12. Cameron Orr
Vista Village back at council Cameron Orr Vista Village Trailer Park continues to be a subject that comes to the municipal council, this time on concerns regarding oil leakage on site. Housing Resource Worker Paul Lagace and Vista Village resident Marie Turner presented their recent concerns at the September 8 council meeting Of note, Turner and Lagace pointed to a letter provided to residents recently from Watermark Solutions, which referred to leak detection and repairs recently done at the park, but found concern that some vehicles were parked over water main lines, and that one vehicle in particular was found to be leaking oil, which had the potential to impact drinking water at the site. The greater concern Lagace spoke to was that if such issues were enforced by the Residential Tenancy Board it could lead to evictions. Beyond that though are photographs presented at the council meeting which he says show discarded old oil tanks sitting on property on the site owned by the owner herself. Lagace’s request to council was that the council contact the ministry of environment to look at the oil leak situation at the park, saying it’s not an issue limited to just the tenants. Lagace also took the opportunity to make reference to a trailer park in Port Edward which it was recently announced
would be closing, putting its residents on a 12-month notice they’ll have to find a new place to live. As reported in The Northern View newspaper, The 12-month notices, form 31 of the Residential Tenancy Branch, were delivered on Aug. 22 by owners Stonecliff Properties following a prolonged dispute between the company and the Port Edward Manufactured Home Association. According to Stonecliff Properties, the evictions are the only option left as it looks to undertake necessary repairs. “The infrastructure has deteriorated to the point that it needs to be replaced ... they won’t let us do any repairs. We need to get between every trailer and under every trailer and all we have asked is that they move boats and cars and they have refused,” said a spokesperson. The situation in Port Edward is in a sense a signal of a possible future in Kitimat, said Lagace. “There should be great concern, potentially this could happen to Vista Village too,” said Lagace. Kitimat Council gave direction to its staff to prepare a report on posible directions council could take to address the issues at Vista Village brought up at the meeting. The Sentinel sent a request for comment to Vista Village however a response was not received in time for our print deadline but a response will be printed once received.