Burnaby wants refinery to pay $30K firefighting bill after Jan. 21 incident

A boat travels past the Parkland Burnaby Refinery on Burrard Inlet at sunset in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday, April 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Burnaby's mayor and council are demanding answers – and looking to be reimbursed for a $30,000 firefighting bill – after an incident at the Parkland Refinery that prompted a public safety advisory and an air quality bulletin.

At Monday's council meeting, Mayor Mike Hurley said he is calling for an independent investigation by the B.C. Energy Regulator.

"I think it's so important to get to the bottom of this – what really happened, what was going on in that refinery on that day. I think the residents affected deserve those answers," he said.

Hurley said he was left with questions when the acrid odour wafted over the area on Jan. 21, as were his concerned constituents.

"I kept waiting for Parkland to step up and tell us what was going on," he said.

"I thought that they would be out there letting us know what had happened and what particulates were being put into the air and how that can be mitigated as best as possible. That never happened."

The refinery has issued several public statements about the incident, but Hurley said he remains troubled by what seems to be missing information – mentioning that he only learned that nine workers sought medical attention from a media report.

"Parkland always talks about being good neighbors. This is not how good neighbors behave," he said.

Hurley's motion passed unanimously, meaning he will now write to the regulator and ask for an investigation on the city's behalf, while also asking the environment minister to support the request. He noted during the meeting that the city itself "really has no way to manage the operations of a refinery," which is why he has to appeal to the province.

In a separate motion, councillors Daniel Tetrault and Alison Gu asked for city staff to figure out how and if Burnaby can make the refinery pay for the fire department's reponse to the incident.

"Burnaby taxpayers should not be on the hook for this. And it also sends a message that companies will be held accountable for damages they cause in their communities," Tetrault said.

"This motion seeks to use essentially the only tool available to the city to be able to seek accountability for Burnaby residents," said Gu.

The fire chief told council that the response – which included 34 firefighters and eight trucks – cost about $29,700.

That motion also passed unanimously.

CTV News asked Parkland Refinery for a response to the issues raised by mayor and council.

"We value our longstanding relationship with the City of Burnaby, and we will continue to directly engage with them as we keep the lines of communication open," a spokesperson said in an email.

"Additionally, we remain in constant contact with all relevant regulators, and stakeholders, including publishing daily community updates on our website, social media, and via email, and by responding directly to members of our community."