City Coun. Claude Berthiaume once had an aunt and uncle evicted from a trailer in a person's yard by a city bylaw officer.
Berthiaume said he doesn't understand why the same thing isn't occurring at Vale Inco, where workers are being housed inside the industrial complex during the strike by United Steelworkers Local 6500.
"I just can't see why it happened to my uncle and aunt and why it did not apply in this situation," Berthiaume said during a city council meeting on Wednesday night. "It's a precedent it's creating to all our residents right now saying don't worry about violating a bylaw."
Berthiaume asked city staff for an update on the investigation of Vale Inco's Copper Cliff facilities to ensure living quarters of onsite workers complied with fire and building codes.
Local 6500 workers have been on strike since July 13, 2009.
City and fire officials inspected the property a few times late last month and early this month — issuing a number of work orders. These included installing smoke detectors, cleaning obstructions from hallways and exterior doors, implementing a fire patrol and developing a fire safety plan.
"Now in the normal course of these sort of processes, this will require us to now consider the building permit and zoning issues that have emerged from the inspections and from making these sites compliant. That is what we are working closely with Vale Inco on now," said the city's CAO Doug Nadorozny.
Nadorozny assured city council Vale Inco was being treated no differently than any other business, industry or resident.
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