Timmins residents discouraged from using salt on their properties
Members of the Mattagami Region Source Protection Committee hosted an information session Wednesday at the Timmins Square shopping mall.
They want people to reconsider using salt on their properties. They said salt is harmful to the environment – even pet-friendly salt – and encourage the use of sand or a mixture of sand and salt.
The Mattagami Region Source Protection Committee met with shoppers at the Timmins Square to inform them about the hazards of using salt on their driveways and sidewalks during the winter months. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)
"We are giving away a 12-ounce cup that you can use at home, and that's the amount of salt that you should actually use that's on your property that won't affect the environment but is still safe to use," said Crystal Percival, source protection committee lead at the Mattagami Region Conservation Authority.
Percival said fortunately, the use of salt has yet to show a major impact in the Timmins area, but new provincial rules are coming.
"We're just trying to take a proactive approach just to educate the community because there will be changes coming down the pipeline, so to speak, in the next few years with regards to salt application," she said.
"It includes a lot of residential areas."
The City of Timmins uses salt for winter road maintenance, but its environmental coordinator said crews follow a salt management plan.
"We work very closely to ensure that salt is applied in the right place, at the right time and so, you know, we're all doing our part," said Christina Beaton.
The Mattagami Region Source Protection Committee met with shoppers at the Timmins Square to inform them about the hazards of using salt on their driveways and sidewalks during the winter months. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)
"We're here to try and educate residents and businesses, you know, not only just in the source protection areas but also just across the community, because it is it is better for our environment."
One local resident stopped by the booth to pick up a cup and thanked the group for providing public education.
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
"I did realize it because I studied it in water for three years," said Genvieve Brouzes.
"I'm happy to see that people are announcing it to others and making other people aware. I typically use sand, but sometimes we'll use salt, maybe a mixture of both. But we try not to use anything that will leach into our waterways."
Officials asked people to also remember that rock salt is less effective in temperatures colder than -12 C and sand works better.
They also recommend you shovel snow as soon as possible to prevent ice buildup.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Car security investigation: How W5 'stole' a car using a device we ordered online
In part two of a three-part series into how thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily, CTV W5 correspondent Jon Woodward uses a device flagged by police to easily clone a car key.
Satire slinger The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax, the families announced Thursday.
South African government says it won't help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine
South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.
Some Scotiabank users facing 'intermittent' access to banking days after scheduled maintenance
Scotiabank users say they are having issues using their bank’s services following a scheduled maintenance period that ended days ago.
B.C. Realtors fined $200K for failure to disclose relevant information to clients
Two B.C. real estate agents have been fined a combined total of more than $200,000 for professional misconduct they committed during the sale of a waterfront property on the Sunshine Coast in 2017.
Trump's defence secretary pick said women shouldn't be in combat roles. These female veterans fear what comes next
Female veterans fear the progress made for women in combat since then will be reversed after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump announced Pete Hegseth this week as his pick for secretary of defense – a Fox News host and Army veteran who has criticized efforts to allow women into combat roles.
Only 8 monkeys remain free after more than a week outside a South Carolina compound
Just eight monkeys remain free from the group who more than a week ago broke out of a South Carolina compound that breeds the primates for medical research, authorities said.
B.C. midwives' college issues warnings about 4 unregistered women
The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives has issued nearly identical warnings about four women, each of whom it says 'may be offering midwifery services' without being permitted to do so.
A look at how much mail Canada Post delivers, amid a strike notice
Amid a potential postal worker strike, here’s a look at how many letters and parcels the corporation delivers and how those numbers have changed in the internet age.