Boat rentals closed after Montreal dumps sewage into canal

Some business owners on Montreal's Lachine Canal were told to close down Tuesday after the city was forced to dump raw sewage into the canal to avoid sewer backups during Monday's heavy rainfall.

The city asked companies renting canoes, kayaks and dragon boats to close for three days because of the high fecal coliform counts in the canal.

"The city contacts Parks Canada. Parks Canada manages the Lachine Canal, and they tell all commerce along the Lachine Canal to shut down," said Matthew Robert who has a dragon boat rental shop.

Robert said he's been through this before. Last year, he had to close for 21 days because of a high coliform count.

During that time, he estimated, he lost $30,000 worth of business.

Robert said he and other business owners feel the closures are an empty gesture. He doesn't understand why the public is not notified about the pollution.

"It's very frustrating and scary to see people with their feet in the water, to see dogs drink water on the canal, to see people fishing. I saw two kids swimming in the canal yesterday," he said.

This is the first time businesses have been asked to close this year, Robert said. So he thought the city had solved the problem.

He said he hopes the city will revise its policy before the next heavy rainfall.