Oil spill cleanup underway in Montreal's Pointe-aux-Trembles district

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) has been pumping a dark, slick substance out of the St. Lawrence river that touches eastern Montreal since Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, the substance was spotted near Montreal's Pointe-aux-Trembles neighbourhood, between 13th Avenue and Tricentenaire Boulevard, the CCG said.

In a statement, Quebec's Environment Ministry said an analysis indicated that the 875-metres long spill was motor oil. 

It said mitigation measures have been put in place and workers are containing the oil spill.

Emergency teams from the ministry are on the ground to implement those measures and "ensure the safety of the population and the protection of the environment."

As of Sunday evening, about two-thirds of the vegetation had been cleaned at least once, and three-quarters of the marina had been treated, according to the Environment Ministry. Some 14,000 litres of oil mixed with water had been recovered.

No land-based source has been found, according to the provincial ministry.

The City of Montreal said it sent inspectors to the site and is monitoring the situation.

In an email sent to CBC, it assured the public that drinking water is "safe to consume."

Last week, the borough of Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles closed its water access ramp. The plan was to reopen it when the situation was resolved.

The CCG is allowing recreational boats to navigate the area but is asking boaters to reduce their speed.

'We need to find the polluter,' says environmental advocate

Daniel Green, co-president of Société Pour Vaincre la Pollution, an environmental group, believes it was a discharge and not an accidental spill. 

"If it was an accidental spill, you would know. Your reservoir is emptying and you would smell it," he said. 

If someone can discharge a significant amount of oil in the environment and "get away with it," he said it would show that "our investigative capacity to find polluters in Canada is lacking." 

"We need to find the polluter," he said.

He hopes both the federal and provincial governments will be "transparent" once they find out what caused the spill and "admit if they missed a spot or if they were not fast enough."

On Friday, Pierre Valois, owner of the Pointe-aux-Trembles marina, said the spill was temporarily blocking boat operations. 

According to him, at least 40 boats at the marina were touched by the spill.

He said he has never seen anything like it in his 40 years there, but he is not worried.

"It's circumstantial," Valois told Radio-Canada.

"We hope to return to normal as soon as possible," he said.