N.B. man says he complained about fuel leak 7 weeks before Tim Hortons shut down in Woodstock

Shane Fowler · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A Nackawic man says he suspected a substance leak astatine a Tim Hortons coffee store successful Woodstock and complained to a manager months earlier it was unopen down.

Jody Bourgoin, who works successful Woodstock, said helium tried to pass unit astir diesel successful the restaurant's h2o backmost successful October, much than 2 months earlier the Tim Hortons on Beardsley Road was closed because of a important leak of diesel from Murray's Irving state presumption adjacent door.

He said helium stopped astatine the Beardsley Road determination connected his luncheon break to complaint his electrical car connected Oc 21. While helium was waiting, helium went into the java shop to usage the bathroom. 

"When I went to lavation my hands, I conscionable noticed it smelled similar gas," said Bourgoin.

"So I tried to lavation that odor off. Obviously, I couldn't. I realized it was coming retired of the tap." 

He near to spell backmost to work, but erstwhile coworkers besides noticed the smell, helium decided to telephone the java shop to fto them cognize they mightiness person a problem. 

"The manager I talked to fundamentally said the odor is from their filtration strategy for their water," said Bourgoin. 

WATCH | Some radical reported the odor of substance successful h2o but were dismissed:

He said the manager helium spoke with wasn't alarmed and told him his ailment wasn't the first. 

"She said she had aggregate calls," said Bourgoin. "And that was it." 

CBC News verified that Bourgoin did marque a telephone to that location through the telephone records connected his phone. His call, made astatine 12:45 p.m. on Oct. 21, lasted 33 seconds.

Bourgoin is 1 of respective radical CBC News has spoken to astir the smell of fuel successful the java shop in the weeks starring up to its closure. 

Unconvinced by the mentation helium received from the manager, helium said he ne'er went back. 

"No h2o filtration strategy smells similar diesel, it conscionable doesn't."

On Dec. 12, astir 7 weeks later, some the Tim Hortons and the Irving state presumption were closed aft the good h2o astatine the java store tested affirmative for substance contamination.

In the months since, the country has been transformed arsenic excavators enactment to region contaminated soil and vacuum trucks tally astir the timepiece to suck up what could beryllium much than 100,000 liters of leaked fuel. 

That Tim Hortons location is inactive closed. The Irving state presumption and its adjoining edifice person reopened and rely on h2o trucked successful from Woodstock's municipal supply.

Bourgoin said that when helium realized the monolithic cleanup effort was due to the fact that of a diesel leak that he'd suspected months ago, helium was conflicted. 

"I was right, and it was benignant of scary," said Bourgoin. 

And he's not alone. 

Fear of the unknown

When the Tim Hortons unopen down, Wanda Pedersen recovered herself retired of a job.

She had worked astatine that determination connected and disconnected for the past 3 years, but her problems got worse erstwhile she learned the leak was important capable to jeopardize her well.

"I'm terrified, due to the fact that we don't cognize wherever it's going," said Pedersen, who lives astir 750 metres from the leak's constituent of origin.  

She describes her full neighbourhood arsenic being connected borderline and fearful for their h2o supply. 

She said she was alert of complaints astir the h2o successful the bathrooms astatine the java shop.

"Everybody conscionable thought it was conscionable sulfur," said Pedersen. "Because we person hard h2o there." 

She was alert of the odor "maybe a month, possibly a mates weeks" before things unopen down and was besides alert of complaints from customers astir a week anterior to the shutdown. 

Because some Tim Hortons and Irving Oil Ltd. person said truthful small publicly, she turned to Legal Aid for proposal and said she's been told to spell for a bid of aesculapian tests arsenic a precaution. 

"I did portion the water," said Pedersen.

"I can't spot determination being thing successful it but conscionable to beryllium connected the harmless side," she's going to travel that ineligible advice.

She said the java shop's well h2o ran done a filtration strategy for cooking systems.

Reports obtained by CBC News done a close to accusation petition with the province's Department of Environment and Local authorities amusement that tests at the Tim Hortons found the restaurant's unfiltered good h2o came up affirmative for contamination, portion the filtered good h2o was negative. 

"The results returned contiguous indicating beingness of gasoline successful their untreated water," wrote Denis Ouellette, with the Department of Environment, connected Dec. 18.

"Water treated done the reverse osmosis returned clean."

According to Tim Hortons, nary of its products were affected by the leak.

An email from the company stated, "The wellness and information of guests is our apical precedence and the section edifice proprietor acted rapidly erstwhile this concern archetypal arose."

"The restaurant's nutrient and beverages were not impacted," stated the email. "However, the proprietor volition not reopen unless we are afloat assured that we tin service the assemblage with the prime impermanent acquisition they expect and deserve."

Investigation being conducted

On Tuesday, Gilles LePage, curate of situation and clime change, responded to questions successful the legislature astir the leak from Green Party Leader David Coon.

LePage said determination was an probe into the leak. CBC News requested further details astir that process, but the section has not provided any.

CBC News attempted to interaction Ian MacDougall, the proprietor of the Beardsley Road Tim Hortons. He did not instrumentality immoderate telephone calls.

Despite aggregate emails and telephone calls to Irving Oil Ltd., the institution has besides not responded to CBC News regarding the leak.