Canadian union files to stop expansion at Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelter

The union representing workers at Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.’s aluminum smelter in Kitimat has filed applications in B.C. Supreme Court seeking to overturn approvals for a $5-billion expansion, claiming the government was biased and the project poses health risks.

Unifor says the government is allowing unsafe levels of air pollution by failing to require the installation of sulphur dioxide (SO2) scrubbers and it wants the court to overturn the approvals.

Unifor also alleges the government approval was prejudiced because a Ministry of Environment employee was being paid by Rio Tinto Alcan at the time the decision was made.

The company disputes both claims, saying modernization will make the plant cleaner, and the dual employment role was a standard procedure, needed because a massive number of permits had to be handled.

Unifor, however, claims the process was badly flawed.

“One of the key Ministry of the Environment employees dealing on a full-time basis with the new smelter was on the payroll of Rio Tinto,” states a union news release. “This government employee was acting as the regulatory authority and providing consulting advice to Rio Tinto at the same time.”

In a petition to the court, Unifor states: “Under written contract, the employee provided consulting advice to Rio Tinto while at the same time being dedicated full-time to carrying out the Ministry’s regulatory mandate as it relates to the new aluminum smelter.”

The petition does not name the government employee, but states the individual was directly involved in the decision-making process that resulted in the government issuing Rio Tinto Alcan a letter of approval last year.

Under that approval Rio Tinto Alcan is allowed to increase its daily SO2 emission limit as the plant expands.

Vancouver lawyer Jason Gratl, who is acting for Unifor, said “a reasonable apprehension of bias” was raised by the paying of a government employee.

Scott Doherty, assistant to the Unifor national president, said the union brought the action because of health concerns.

“Our 950 members at the Rio Tinto smelter are at ground zero for emissions. This is an unacceptable health and safety risk,” he said. “It’s not that we’re not jumping on the bandwagon for the project. We certainly agree that the expansion needs to take place. It’s just that we should be making sure that we’re taking all the environmental precautions necessary to ensure people’s health is not put at risk.”

But Kevin Dobbin, a spokesman for Rio Tinto Alcan, said the expansion and modernization of the plant will make it a safer, cleaner operation.

“It’s unfortunate … our local union has made those statements, especially on the dangers of health. Obviously health is a key factor for us … the new smelter will [have] over 50 per cent reduction of environmental impacts in the region,” Mr. Dobbin said. “This is the most modern technology in the world; it’s state of the art.”

And he dismissed as unwarranted the allegation that the decision was biased because Rio Tinto Alcan paid a government employee.

Mr. Dobbin said the company had to get more than 300 government permits for the expansion project and to get through that process efficiently, Rio Tinto Alcan paid the government to have a ministry official work on the process.

“Obviously … you want to do it as quickly as you can,” he said. “We did an agreement with the Ministry of Environment which I understand is not unusual … to dedicate a resource specifically on those permits.”

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