Come By Chance refinery owners file court action to block release of $180M environmental deal
CBC
The new owners of the Come By Chance refinery are going to court to block the release of an agreement with the provincial government that could put Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers on the hook for up to $180 million in environmental liabilities.
CBC News had filed an access-to-information request for those records six months ago.
In a recent report, the province's information and privacy commissioner said the document should be made public, leaving a Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court challenge as the last option for the owners to stop that from happening.
"We have decided to participate in this process and appeal the decision to protect confidential business information that is commercially sensitive and critical to the competitiveness of our operations and the ongoing refinery conversion which we will complete later this year," Braya Renewable Fuels said in a statement to CBC News.
The document in question is a memorandum of understanding related to a taxpayer-backed environmental indemnity at the Come By Chance refinery site.
In late November, Cresta Fund Management announced it had acquired a controlling interest in the Come By Chance refinery. It was rechristened as Braya Renewable Fuels.
The half-century-old Come By Chance operation is now being converted to produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.
Previous owner Silverpeak is a minority partner in Braya, while keeping control of the part of the business that imports and distributes fuel like gasoline into the province.
The refinery had been shuttered since March 2020, in the wake of COVID-19-related economic turmoil.
To facilitate the Cresta-Silverpeak deal, Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers are taking on a new environmental indemnity to cover certain potential pre-existing problems at the refinery site, capped at $180 million.
When the deal was announced in late November, Premier Andrew Furey pointed to the importance of the $180-million cap and "upside protection" in the environmental indemnity deal.
Government officials have indicated the province's exposure could decline over time based on the profitability of the refinery and logistics sides of the operation.
But the province hasn't provided details about how it would work, so CBC News filed an access-to-information request for the agreement — a matter that is now going before the courts.
The current situation involving the environmental deal at Come By Chance is in stark contrast to what happened the last time the refinery was sold, in 2014.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.