Green Party leader calls for review of Fredericton chemical spill

Green Party Leader David Coon, whose Fredericton riding includes the Vanier Highway where a large chemical spill occurred last week, is calling for a provincial review.

Coon says the province should have acted faster and needs to be more transparent about events like this.

He called the whole process "very slow" from when the spill was discovered to when emergency measures were activated.

Residents have told CBC News that the spill was first observed late on Wednesday, but the province didn’t announce it until Friday morning, when it was being cleaned up, and didn’t publicly share details about what the chemical was until 9 p.m. Friday.

Coon said he was briefed by provincial officials on Saturday. He contends the spill was first reported to the province on Thursday, but didn’t have further details. Releases from the province have not indicated exactly when or how they were made aware of the spill.

The province has provided updates on social media or its website, but despite repeated requests, has not provided any interviews to CBC News since the spill was discovered. A request on Monday was declined.

A questions and answers document published by the province on Monday afternoon includes a number of questions without a direct answer.

For example, under “Who is responsible for this chemical spill? What are the consequences they will face?” the answer says in part, "We recognize and understand that many community members have questions regarding the cause of the spill and the parties involved. … Our teams remain focused on ensuring that cleanup operations proceed safely and effectively."

A chemist told CBC News over the weekend that health risks to humans from the yellow liquid, identified as hexavalent chromium, were likely low.

Coon said the Emergency Measures Organization “did exactly what needed to be done.

"But the time delay between the spill Wednesday night and Saturday morning," when officials set up a car wash for affected vehicles, "disturbs me," he said.

“I am very frustrated by the lack of transparency on the part of the government in terms of speaking to the public, speaking to the media in a timely manner to tell them what they knew,” Coon said.

A spokesperson for the City of Fredericton, where the spill happened, deferred all questions to provincial officials.

Coon compared the government’s response to the diesel spill in Woodstock last year.