Residents want answers after fuel leak shuts down a Woodstock Tim Hortons
CBC
Five large pump trucks idle loudly in an otherwise empty Tim Hortons parking lot in Woodstock.
Some have the words Environmental Services stencilled on their sides. Others say Septic Tank Cleaning, Oil Spill Response.
Some people in the area say they heard truckers had complained about the smell of gas on their hands after washing up at the now darkened and closed Tim Hortons. And other customers had complained about the taste of fuel in their beverages as far back as late November.
"Everybody I know, they discuss it," said Verne Beers, 81, who lives about 700 metres from that Tim Hortons location on Beardsley Road.
But despite all their questions, it was only this week the province confirmed that there had, in fact, been a fuel leak — at Murray's Irving gas station restaurant, located just across the parking lot from the Tims.
CBC News spoke to residents who said they were not able to get an answer from Tim Hortons or the gas station, which was also closed for several days, as to what happened in mid-December when they shut down.
Many said they were worried there had been a leak and they may have consumed products contaminated with fuel.
Beers and several of his neighbours say they were all aware when both the Tim Hortons and Murray's shut down on Dec. 12.
"It was closed and there were environmental trucks and suction trucks, that sort of thing," said Beers, who is concerned about the possibility of his well water being contaminated.
But he and several of his neighbours, including former customers who drank and ate at those locations daily, say they've been worried for weeks about what they may have consumed.
When contacted by phone, Ian MacDougall, owner of that Tim Hortons, was asked if he could explain the reason for the closure.
"I'm afraid I can't," MacDougall said. "I'm the franchisee, so I can direct you to the Tim's media hotline."
An email from Restaurant Brands International stated that "Tim Hortons on Beardsley Road is currently closed due to an issue with another neighbouring business." Follow up emails have gone unanswered.
CBC News made several requests to speak with the management and the owners of Murray's Irving, located just across the parking lot from the Tim Hortons. Those requests via phone and email went unanswered.
The past 12 months brought big political headlines, new partisan players and plenty of parliamentary surprises. How much do you remember from it all?
The Ontario government has quietly given itself the power to override archaeological protections on development sites.
A freezing rain event that's left roads and trees across southwestern Ontario coated in ice has also seen emergency crews overwhelmed with calls for help from people without power and snapped trees.
Annette Dionne, the last surviving Dionne quintuplet and a champion of children's rights, has died.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is warning of multiple scams circulating leading up to the holidays.
The painted bunting usually calls the southern U.S. home and travels south at this time of year, but one decided to spend its Christmas holidays up north in Bayfield, N.B.
The Greater Montreal area could see a prolonged period of freezing rain on Monday, with potentially hazardous conditions developing across much of southern Quebec.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a freezing rain and snowfall warning for large portions of central and northeastern Saskatchewan, with 10 to 15 centimeters of snow expected from Friday into Saturday morning.
A White Rock, B.C., councillor who uses a wheelchair has arranged for the community's popular New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim to be more accessible.
Blowing snow advisories were issued for Alberta’s two largest cities on Boxing Day, while large swaths of the province were also under various winter weather advisories or warnings.
Peterborough police have arrested and charged one man with second-degree murder in connection with a homicide in the city earlier this month.
Two newly published maps show the Bathurst caribou's changing migration patterns as their population rapidly decreases.
Provincial police are warning drivers to stay off the roadways on Boxing Day as southwestern Ontario falls under a freezing rain warning from Environment Canada.