St. Mary's mayor calling for federal support after high winds tear open abandoned fish sauce plant
CBC
Provincial officials will meet with St. Mary’s town council on Monday, after high winds tore the side of an abandoned fish sauce plant — but the town’s mayor is also calling on the federal government for help.
“The Coast Guard should be here on site and this should be contained,” said Mayor Steve Ryan. “This is lobster grounds, crab grounds, cod grounds. This got to be protected.”
After one side of the building tore off in high winds overnight Friday into Saturday, Ryan says 110 vats of rotting fish sauce are now exposed to the elements.
Ryan has been waiting for help from the federal government to remove the building, since it was discovered in 2016 that ‘acutely lethal’ effluent was flowing into the ocean and killing fish.
The building is only about 50 feet from the ocean, and with more high winds forecasted for Monday, Ryan is concerned that the old fish sauce could leak into the ocean again.
Ryan also says a residence behind the building will be evacuated on Monday, as he worries the winds could be high enough to lift the plant’s roof. The town's Deputy Mayor, Yvonne Bishop, warns others in the area should be ready to leave if winds pick up significantly.
“If that roof goes off, it is exposed. Everything is exposed,” Bishop said.
Bishop also wants the Coast Guard to provide support.
“Federal has really stepped back, they never put their foot in, our minister… should be here,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bishop says the town has been dealing with the plant’s “stench” for years.
“It's just a fumigating smell of rotten compost of fish and it’s constant,” she said. “You wouldn't want to live next to it.”
Provincial officials are set to meet with the town’s council on Monday, said Department of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change director of communications, Michelle Hunt-Grouchy, in a statement to CBC.
She says they will “focus on assessment, next steps, and ensuring the safety and well being of residents as decisions are made.”
Hunt-Grouchy also says the issue is a priority for the province, and that multiple departments have been discussing how to ensure “the safe and secure disposal of the organic waste” and how to “mitigate any associated risks.”
A temporary emergency warming centre in Caraquet is getting a second chance after facing backlash from residents.
Quebec's Minister of Municipal Affairs Geneviève Guilbault will leave provincial politics at the end of her mandate, citing family reasons, according to a spokesperson for the minister.
The parent company of Winnipeg spa Thermea has pulled a guest experience survey that asked what one customer says were "highly inappropriate" questions, including one asking if immigration is a threat to "the purity of the country."
Some farmers in Saskatchewan say they hope a new deal on canola tariffs struck with China following a visit by both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe this week will not only improve the market, but also signal a step away from western alienation.
Angelica Lim is explaining how the shiny, white robot in front of us only responds to the command, “Tell me a joke,” when it interrupts her.
Even if you don’t want to sing, Nathan Whitlock says you should still come out to one of his band's live karaoke shows.
Drive south from Calgary on Highway 2 and watch as the speed cuts from 110 kilometres an hour down to 70, then 50, then 30 for a temporary school zone.
The new Ontario Line will include protective barriers at all stations to separate platforms from the tracks, something the Toronto Transit Commission has been considering adding to its subway system for years.
This First Person column is the experience of Andrew Stetson, a writer and storyteller in P.E.I. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
After years of seemingly unlimited growth for the craft beer industry, the party is winding down.
Even from a few kilometres away, Dr. Vitor Mendes Pereira is able to perform a critical diagnostic procedure, thanks to an internet connection and a remote-controlled robot.
The side of an abandoned fish sauce plant in St. Mary's, N.L. was ripped open after high winds overnight Friday into Saturday.
A police officer shot a man on Quinpool Road after he allegedly threatened them with a knife, Halifax Regional Police said in a news release.