1. Introduction

This report is the final step in the comprehensive review process of the events leading to the discharge of untreated wastewater into the St. Lawrence River by the City of Montreal between November 11 and 14, 2015. The review is one of the conditions contained in paragraph four (4) of the Ministerial Order of November 9, 2015, issued pursuant to subsection 37(2) of the Fisheries Act, by the Minister of ECCC:

“The City of Montreal must participate in a comprehensive review of the events leading to the occurrence of the deposit, which will be led by the Department of the Environment. Affected First Nations, the province and the other parties involved will be invited to participate in this review, an important objective of which is to ensure that appropriate consultations are held. The review will reflect the objective that such a discharge does not reoccur in the future. The review will also reflect the commitment of the Minister of the Environment to establish respectful relations with First Nations based on mutual recognition. It will also be grounded in the principles of openness, respect and transparency which will include timely exchange of information to ensure the full and meaningful participation of all interested parties.”

The scope of this report is limited to the objectives set out in the Ministerial Order. The report will not address other aspects that were raised during the review process, such as official communications with the general public, public perception and expectations with respect to the municipal wastewater treatment systems as well as the current state, shortcomings, and funding of these infrastructures. Moreover, data from the scientific monitoring of the discharge described in the Ministerial Order are not part of the report because the monitoring was set to continue beyond this review.

The main findings of this report deal with intergovernmental communications and the engagement and consultation of Indigenous communities in connection with the present file. It sets out the different observations of the stakeholders before, during, and after the City of Montreal discharged the untreated wastewater.  

There was a lack of consensus on some specific aspects of the report among the participants of the review. All the participants had an opportunity to provide comments while the final report was being written, and the recommendations made by ECCC take into account all of the information and comments received.