New BrunswickAmerican Iron & Metal has been approved to operate a scrapyard in Shediac. The company hasn’t said what it plans to do with the site.N.B. government issued approval in June, weeks before Moncton approval expiredShane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Aug 27, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoAn aerial view of American Iron & Metal’s site in the Scoudouc Industrial Park on Aug. 21. (Denis Mazerolle/Radio-Canada)American Iron & Metal has been approved to operate a scrapyard in Shediac.A spokesperson for New Brunswick’s Department of Public Safety says it recently issued a salvage dealer’s licence for the company’s property in the Scoudouc Industrial Park.The province requires the licence for anyone operating a salvage yard that buys or sells scrap material.Jadesola Emmanuel, a spokesperson for the department, confirmed its the first time the company, known as AIM, has had a salvage dealer’s licence for the site. AIM has owned the property off Bursill Road since 2013.The approval, effective June 17, came only weeks before the New Brunswick government opted not to renew a similar licence for AIM’s site in Moncton that nearby residents wanted relocated. The company has yet to say what it plans for the Shediac site. AIM, and a lawyer who has represented the company, did not respond to requests for comment.WATCH | Licence granted as company loses approval in Moncton: AIM approved for Shediac scrap siteThe New Brunswick government has issued a salvage dealer’s licence for American Iron & Metal’s property in Shediac. The approval came just before the province let the company’s Moncton approval expire.Robert Gauvin, the Public Safety minister and the MLA for the area, didn’t provide an interview. The department directed questions about AIM’s plans to the company. The large piece of land was previously used as a scrapyard before AIM bought it. Jennifer MacNeil, another spokesperson for the province, said the site has an approval to operate from the Department of Environment and Local Government for a closed solid waste disposal facility which expires July 3, 2026.The landfill was used to dispose of waste generated from a metal reclamation and shredder operation that stopped operating in 2012.The AIM site, shown in the background among trees, is in the Scoudouc Industrial Park, which is now part of Shediac. (Denis Mazerolle/Radio-Canada)The Scoudouc Industrial Park became part of the Town of Shediac in 2023 through local governance reforms.Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie said last year that the area is zoned for heavy industry, which would allow a scrapyard.A spokesperson for the Southeast Regional Service Commission, which handles land-use planning for the area, said it has not received any applications or filings for permits from AIM for the site.Caissie did not provide an interview about the company getting a salvage dealer’s licence.A spokesperson for the town told Radio-Canada last week that the municipality had just learned about the permit and was awaiting further information from the province.The Montreal-based company’s operations in New Brunswick have come under scrutiny following explosions, workplace deaths and a large 2023 fire at its Saint John port location. The fire led to the port site being shut down and increased activity at its Moncton site, which was used to ship scrap by rail. Residents living only a few hundred metres away complained to the city and province about noise, smells and vibrations from the Toombs Street scrapyard.Gauvin, the minister, told AIM in a July 18 letter that the province had opted not to renew the salvage dealer’s licence for the Moncton location. Gauvin’s letter said the location’s proximity to a park, playground or school, was in violation of the province’s Unsightly Premises Act. Romain Viel, a lawyer representing the company, said in a statement last month that it was disappointed with the minister’s decision and was considering its options. The company had 90 days to seek a judicial review of the decision. No such review has been sought so far, according to the province’s court case index. ABOUT THE AUTHORShane Magee is a Moncton-based reporter for CBC.With files from Pascal Raiche-Nogue
AIM gets scrapyard approval for site in Shediac
