Investigation underway after allegations of illegal sewage dumping in Montreal River

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 4:58 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

The Ontario Ministry of Environment is investigating allegations of amerciable sewage dumping into the Montreal River, a interest that has raised alarms successful the tiny municipality of Matachewan and the neighboring First Nation.

A ailment was filed with the Ministry of Environment successful precocious February, alleging that the proprietor of a mining campy lodge had dumped discarded into the river.

Nathaniel Oudyk, who was staying astatine a mining campy lodge adjacent the river, said helium filed the ailment aft witnessing suspicious activity. 

"I saw an unfastened small spread successful the crushed and determination was a beardown odor of sewage coming from that. And beside the hole, determination was a pump, the akin benignant of pump that wood firefighters would use. And determination was a hose starring from that toward the Montreal River," Oudyk said.

The Ontario Ministry of Environment hasn't confirmed if immoderate sewage leaked into the river, but said it is investigating. The ministry has said that it would instrumentality further enactment if necessary. 

The Township of Matachewan says it is alert of the allegations, has posted connected its Facebook encouraging anyone with accusation to measurement forward, but isn't definite if they are existent oregon not.

The allegations person stirred beardown reactions successful the tiny agrarian assemblage of a fewer 100 people, arsenic good arsenic the neighbouring Matachewan First Nation. 

Chief Sonny Batisse said assemblage members are shocked by the claims and profoundly acrophobic astir the imaginable harm to the river.

"When I archetypal heard of it, I was mad. I said, 'How tin idiosyncratic bash a disrespectful happening similar that?' I mean, you conscionable don't bash things similar that," Batisse said. 

He explained that the First Nation has already met with ministry officials and vexation is increasing since they person not yet received an update. 

"We privation answers," Batisse said. "We're not going to beryllium down softly and conscionable fto it alert by."