'A surely poisoned environment': Gogama fire chief seeks PM's help in oil cleanup

Gogama's fire chief has brought his concerns to the doorstep of the Prime Minister's summer cabinet retreat.

Mike Benson arrived at Laurentian Universityto seek Prime Minister Justin Trudeau'shelp toforce Canadian National Rail to clean up what he describes as thelingering effects of an oil spill caused by a train derailment near Gogama, Ont., in 2015.

"[There's] 1.4 million litres of oil flowing down our river into our lake and into our drinking water," said Benson.

• Here's why Gogama's Makami River 'will never be pristine again'

Sheens of oil are commonly reported on Gogama'sMakami River, over which antrain derailed in March 2015, as well as Lake Minisinakwa, on which the town is built.

'Not sheen. Oil.'

"We've had hundreds of fish killed, and there's oil on the surfaceevery day," Benson said.

"You can't walk or use the river. As soon as the sediment is disturbed there's oil coming to the surface. Not sheen.Oil."

• Train carrying crude oil derails near Gogama, Ont.

Benson said the Ontario government has allowed CN Railways to monitor the cleanup itself, in a case of what he referred to in an earlier interview with CBC as"the fox testing the chickens."

A 'surely poisoned environment'

"The [Ontario]Ministry of Environmentdoesn't do their own testing other than surface water," Benson said."CN Railhas donetheir owntesting, and the ministry accepts it as true, [and they say], 'So you guys are done.Pack up and leave.'"

• Gogama train derailments: Questions linger one year later

"Here we have a surely poisonedenvironment, and it's got tobe cleaned," Benson continued. "It'sgetting worse very day."

"Oil is running out of the river, into theopen water and into community drinking water sources."

The Prime Minister and his cabinet are staying at Laurentian University until Monday afternoon.On the agenda: conversations around the economy and the environment.