Environment and Climate Change Canada warned National Defence that CFB Kingston violated federal halocarbon rules after failing to test and log refrigerant leaks on five rooftop air conditioners in 2023, according to a DND memo.
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Environment and Climate Change Canada warned National Defence earlier this year that CFB Kingston had violated federal environmental regulations after an enforcement officer alleged in a January letter that the base breached halocarbon requirements under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
The warning was tied to an inspection of a building on the base last year, and documents obtained by National Defence through the Access to Information Act say the department told National Defence in January that it had not conducted and logged leak tests on five rooftop air conditioning units in 2023.
A memo signed by Peter Hammerschmidt, assistant deputy minister for infrastructure and environment at National Defence, states that CFB Kingston “experienced three large … halocarbon releases” of more than 100 kilograms within the past two years.
The memo says the “non-compliance stemmed from limited maintenance resourcing and under use of Defence Resource Management Information System for scheduling and record-keeping.”
National Defence documents say breaking federal regulations can lead to fines, but the memo indicates no fines would be issued because the issue had been fixed.
The memo also says CFB Kingston received the only warning in the past decade, while other National Defence establishments faced 37 such “enforcement measures” over the same period, “primarily for similar administrative or maintenance deficiencies.”
As part of its response, the memo cites an increase in defence funding and says DND is implementing a real property compliance framework covering halocarbon-containing systems, including expanding resources where required.
At CFB Kingston specifically, the memo says an additional position is being created to support local compliance activities, and new contracting initiatives are underway to improve system maintenance, while reducing the maintenance backlog “will take time.”
The documents note that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government increased last year’s defence budget by $9 billion and plans to spend tens of billions more on defence over the coming years as Ottawa works to meet NATO commitments.
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