![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/70c8fc80.png\")
<\/p>\nThe District of North Vancouver has rejected a plan to keep a major chlorine producer operating long-term.<\/p>\n
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Chemtrade has been making liquid chlorine<\/a> in North Vancouver<\/a> since 1957 and supplies more than 40 per cent of Canada\u2019s drinking water treatment needs.<\/p>\n The company had been seeking rezoning approval to continue operations on land adjacent to its current location at the port, but that land is managed by the District of North Vancouver.<\/p>\n On Monday, council voted 4-3 against the rezoning approval.<\/p>\n Chemtrade Group\u2019s vice-president of commercial, Alan Robinson, said they were not expecting that result.<\/p>\n \u201cSurprised, disappointed, is the easiest way to summarize that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Councillors who opposed the plan said the biggest issue was safety, including the risk of a catastrophic chlorine release.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n While assessments say the facility meets current standards, but some say that is no longer enough.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tGet daily National news<\/p>\n Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are now in an era where critical infrastructure, including chemical facilities, water systems, and energy plants, are drone targets in modern conflict,\u201d said Catherine Pope, a District of North Vancouver councillor.<\/p>\n However, not everyone agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat planet are we living on?\u201d Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West said.<\/p>\n \u201cOn that basis, you\u2019re going to reject this? If we apply that logic, we won\u2019t have anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Chemtrade says it has never had a major safety incident and approval would have unlocked additional safety upgrades<\/p>\n The company also warns that shutting down could leave Western Canada relying on the U.S. for liquid chlorine.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore on Economy \u201cWhat we\u2019ll call the self-reliance or self-independence for Canada and keeping the plants open that supply key industries that make Canada prosper here, we\u2019d like to see the vote go in a different direction for us,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n Supporters called the facility a key economic driver that relies on the North Shore\u2019s unique geography.<\/p>\n \u201cIt requires a very special combination of rail, vehicle, and marine access, and I think it\u2019s going to be very difficult to find another suitable site,\u201d North Vancouver District councillor Jim Hanson said.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n B.C. Jobs and Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon said there should have been discussions with the province.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a decision to be made like that without engaging with the province or any other communities depending on it, I think, is problematic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Chemtrade hopes the decision can be revisited.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, West said Port Coquitlam would welcome them \u201cwith open arms.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The District of North Vancouver has rejected a plan to keep a major chlorine producer operating long-term. Chemtrade…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,46,229186,33136,714,55],"class_list":["post-607274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-economy","tag-liquid-chlorine","tag-north-vancouver","tag-politics","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767930311_275_national.jpg\")
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