British Columbia

Corporate ethics is an oxymoron

It was one of two acrid odours that spread over parts of Metro Vancouver in less than a week, raising questions about corporate responsibility to inform the public when such events cause widespread concern and confusion but fall short of health and safety breaches.

The smell Ford referred to was revealed to be “an unplanned issue” with a Parkland fuel refinery processing unit in neighbouring Burnaby. The heavy stench, which Ford compared to jet fuel, blanketed parts of Metro Vancouver and caused more than 100 complaints from local residents.

It came just days after a “controlled release of gas” from a FortisBC interconnect station in nearby Delta, B.C., prompted criticisms from Mayor George Harvie and numerous residents that the utility didn’t notify the public for more than four hours.

Harvie said the heavy odour caused stress and panic in the community, and a flood of calls to local police and fire departments hampered Delta’s emergency response services.