Residents angry about slow response time to diesel spill near Foleyet
Some people who live near the Town of Foleyet are questioning why a diesel fuel spill from a transport collision wasn't contained before it began leaching into a nearby lake.
The transport landed in the ditch on Sept. 9 and 13 days later, a waste management team from Timmins was dispatched to respond.
Kevin Gagnon lives in Foleyet and travels to Timmins daily for work. He noticed the transport truck had gone into the ditch, next to Boulder Lake, where it remained for five days.
"After the truck was pulled out, I went back to look and you could see puddles of diesel," Gagnon said.
"It was water at first and it was all blue and then there were areas where it was all oil."
Remnants of the collision remain at the scene, where a film of diesel fuel remains on the surface of the water. Gagnon said sending someone to try to contain it now is a little too late.
"My main question is just why there was so many levels of incompetence as far as the truck driver, the tow truck, OPP, MOE," said Gagnon.
"No matter what their roles are, someone should have been worried about it."
The owner of White Pine Lodge in the area called it a "dangerous" situation.
"Like this area, from there to my place, it connects four lakes and it's one of the best fishing grounds around for walleye, pike, perch and whitefish," said Tony Godin.
In an email to CTV News, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment said:
"During a Sept. 16 visit to the site, the ministry observed the ponding of fuel and coolant near the spill site but that it had not migrated to Boulder Lake. On Sept. 21, the ministry received reports from the public that fuel had migrated to the lake with recent rainfall."
The Ministry also wrote that "it takes spills and threats to the environment very seriously."
Gagnon and Godin would beg to differ.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.