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Environmentalists and New Brunswick’s Green Party are calling for more transparency after it took nearly two days for the provincial government to issue a warning about a chemical spill that left drivers south of Fredericton commuting through toxins.
“From stem to stern, their spill response and public transparency and reporting need to be overhauled,” Green Party Leader David Coon said in an interview Wednesday, shortly after provincial officials updated reporters on last week’s 900-litre chemical spill over a 14-kilometre stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway.
The spill left yellow streaks and tire tracks on the highway south of Fredericton and coated some vehicles. Among the chemicals released was hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen the province says is not dangerous in brief exposures. The chemical is perhaps best known for a case of drinking water contamination in California taken on by paralegal Erin Brockovich, who won a multi-million dollar settlement for residents and became the subject of a Hollywood movie.
“It is true that exposure to this substance over a long period of time can increase the risk of certain cancers,” regional medical officer of health, Dr. Rita Gad, told reporters Wednesday. “I want to stress that one-time or short contact with hexavalent chromium does not increase your cancer risk.”
The spill happened on the evening of Wednesday, March 4, and was reported to the province by the City of Fredericton the next day. The province says preliminary lab results confirming the presence of the chemical came in around noon Friday, at which point roads were closed and cleanup began. The first public update on the matter did not go out until about nine hours after the test results came in.
Charbel Awad, deputy minister of environment, said the government understands that some members of the public feel there were gaps in communication, adding that potential improvements will be part of an upcoming review. “We always strive to do better and understand where we need to go to provide that information and how we provide it,” he told reporters.
“But also trying to balance the fact that we don’t want to speculate. We want to ensure we have the facts and that we’re providing specific information and specific guidance that won’t change over time that people can depend on.”
Officials said Wednesday that the spill was caused by Fredericton company XL Plating and Machining, which will be responsible for covering the cost of remediation. No price estimate was provided and the company declined to comment when contacted Wednesday.
Awad declined to provide further details about how the spill happened, citing the ongoing investigation. He also didn’t answer questions about the vehicle’s signage, manifest and reporting history, saying that information may impact the final investigation and possible charges.
The executive director of Conservation Council of New Brunswick, Beverly Gingras, said in a statement Wednesday that the government needs clear rules for public communications and strong response standards.
“After a major chemical spill, people deserve to know right away what happened, what the risks are and how it will be cleaned up,” she said.
“Even if provincial officials say the risk to people is low, residents shouldn’t have to wait days to learn what they may have been exposed to.”
Gingras compared the government’s response to how it handled a 100,000-litre diesel spill at an Irving truck stop in Woodstock, N.B., in December 2024. The extent of the spill was not revealed until more than two months later following a CBC freedom of information request to the Environment Department.
“The government’s response to these spills makes it hard for people to trust that it is protecting our environment and our health,” said Gingras.
Coon listed a number of questions he still has after Wednesday’s briefing, including when the chemical-carrying vehicle was last inspected, if the government has been in communication with the company since the spill, if it was a tanker truck or a truck carrying containers and the exact route it took.
“They said they took an abundance of precaution, but an abundance of precaution means you shut down the highway until you figure out what you’re dealing with, not wait to find out what the analysis tells you, which is a long process,” said Coon.
“Their spill response practices leave much to be desired and need to be updated and improved. There’s a lot that went wrong here.”
The government set up a special car wash in the area to decontaminate vehicles. Engineering consulting firm EFI Global is leading the cleanup and the company’s senior vice-president, Kevin Burgher, said the company is triaging calls from people outside the Fredericton area, some of which are from outside the province, who may have washed their cars in another location.
“Obviously, if people did wash off a vehicle in the garage or at home, or for example, if they do have a well nearby, those are priority sites that we’re evaluating,” he said.
Awad said the province is looking at what penalties and fines can be imposed on XL Plating and Machining and said the RCMP may be investigating as well. The force did not immediately confirm its involvement.
Transport Canada and the federal Environment Department did not immediately say if they were investigating.
The province says there’s a long-term plan to sample soil and drinking water in the impacted area, and the public will be informed about any changes to their health risks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2026.
— By Devin Stevens in Halifax.
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