Ombudsman to investigate delay of St. Boniface soil testing results

Manitoba's ombudsman will investigate the Progressive Conservative government's delay in releasing test results that showed soil contamination at at least 24 homes in St. Boniface.

An advisory note obtained by the Winnipeg Free Press in August showed the province's Sustainable Development department first learned the results of soil testing in St. Boniface on June 4 — more than a month before affected residents were informed.

A day after the advisory note became public, Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew called on provincial ombudsman Marc Cormier to investigate. 

In a press release, Cormier said he believes looking into the matter "can help to shed light on this specific incident and to bring greater clarity to the process for releasing this type of government information generally."

Over the summer, a St. Boniface residents group raised concerns that their soil was contaminated with high levels of toxic metals.

2017 tests showed elevated levels

Preliminary tests done in August 2017 by Shirley Thompson, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba's Natural Resources Institute, found elevated levels of lead, copper, zinc and cadmium in a dozen soil samples. 

In some cases, the levels exceeded Canadian standards by three to 15 times the recommended limits.

Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires previously said that bureaucrats who were aware of the report failed to tell her until June 21, by which time a provincial byelection in St. Boniface had been called.

Squires says she received a legal opinion from Crown counsel that if the government publicly disclosed the information, it would be violating the Elections Financing Act, which says a government department or Crown agency "must not advertise or publish any information about its programs or activities" during an election period.

Squires has also previously said the government will co-operate with an investigation by the ombudsman, should the office decide to pursue the matter.

2007 test results never released

The St. Boniface soil samples aren't the only case where soil contamination has become a concern in the city recently.

CBC News reported last week that testing done on soil in parts of Point Douglas and several other Winnipeg neighbourhoods in 2007 and 2008 showed potentially dangerous levels of lead.

The results of the tests were detailed in a draft report dated July 2009 and a near-identical draft dated in 2011 that were obtained by CBC News. Neither draft report was ever publicly released by the then NDP government.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen said last week the provincial government has committed to retesting of the areas listed in the report. That testing is expected to begin Sept. 24 and be completed by the end of October.

With files from Kristin Annable