Stories can be found in nature, art, and other forms of expression but for the most part there is seldom a story to be told when there are no people involved.
And we know there is fact and fiction within many news storylines and plenty of details. Stories of significance do occur on the back roads and thoroughness is required when writing about a multifaceted event.
AI suggests: “Social media significantly impacts news reporting by acting as a platform for real-time updates, story discovery, and audience engagement. However, it also raises concerns about misinformation and the potential for skewed public perception due to algorithmic prioritization of engagement.”
Within many rural areas there are no readily available professional media to contact, this because of decreasing community coverage and the rise of social media. Bill C-18 – Online News Act has had an effect. And response times are often compromised. This story could be an example.
The following is like the 2009 movie titled It’s Complicated, with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, there are many relationships.
Following murky waters
A working lead to this submission: “The Montreal River could be murkier and the waters are overflowing its banks with social conflict and the undetermined.”
Last summer, in and around the small community of approximately 300, a Back Roads Bill story was published with so much to tell, very positive. In fact, my Editor, Carol Martin, entitled the piece Matachewan: a gold mine of stories.
This spring, I have a different tale to report, one that is not so precious. I recently visited the community again to find out more about reported raw sewage being intentionally dumped in the Montreal River.
During the winter, on Sunday, February 23, there was an alleged dumping of raw sewage from a commercial camp on the Montreal River in Matachewan, 44 km west of Kirkland Lake on Hwy. 560.
Mine worker smells sewage, finds pump and pipe
Nathaniel Oudyk is contract worker for the nearby Alamos Gold Mine and has been employed there for six months. He is a geological technician who looks at core samples and works the typical two weeks on and off. There is no traditional mining camp at this mine so workers find accommodations throughout the Kirkland Lake-Elk Lake-Timiskaming Shores region. There are few such choices in Matachewan.
He described what he saw that evening on Sunday, February 23.
“We got back to the Old School Camp at approximately 7:15-7:30 p.m. after eating dinner (at the ZZZs 'n' Eats). I noticed a smell of sewage as I got out of the truck and checked the truck to see if I had driven through something.
“I didn’t see anything on the truck, so I went to head inside when I noticed an open hole in the ground with a pump beside it. The hole was where the smell of sewage was coming from.
"I took a closer look and saw the pump had a hose that was sitting inside the hole. The other hose connected to the pump was lying across the snow in the direction of the Montreal River.”
Oudyk said the pump was not operating when he saw it.
“The hose wasn’t too long and dipped into the snow a bit further away from where I could walk. I was surprised to see this and wondered why this pump would be set up like this, and began to think of any possible explanations. The only conclusion I could draw was that the pump was used to pump sewage which concerned me a lot. I tried to think of other explanations, but none of them made sense."
Oudyk took some photos and documented what he had seen.
“I then decided to report what I saw to the Ministry of Environment so they could send someone out to investigate what I had seen. I filled out a report online (Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks – MECP spill line) and called them to make sure I had reported to the correct place.”
He also said he had never heard the pump running.
“I went to sleep for the night, and when I headed out for work at approximately 6:20 a.m. the next morning, the pump and hose had been put away. I shared what I saw and the photos with the owners of ZZZ’s and Eats, where we get our food from. I got a call from a MOE officer later that morning (Monday), answered some questions and was informed that a site visit would be occurring that Tuesday.”
Shortly after the incident, Oudyk was told by the owner of the Old School Camp that the accommodation would be closed for renovation. He stayed at an alternative offered (by the same owner) but has since moved on to the nearby Golden Eagle Camp, which has cottages.
Mr. Oudyk provided his photos to use in our gallery.
The view from across the river
Stories have multiple viewpoints. One side says this about the complaint.
Ken Mccollam and his partner, Lindsay Neal, are the owners of ZZZs 'n' Eats.
Mr. Mccollam explained the context.
“There is a group of contract workers from Alamos Gold, who stay at what is now called The Old School Camp Matachewan, an old tourist camp taken over a couple years ago and run by a man named Raj. This group sleeps at the camp, but their company, Bayside Geosciences, has contracted us to provide meals for this group,” Mr. Mccollam said.
“On February 23, at approximately 8:30 p.m., we received a call from Nathaniel Oudyk saying he had returned to the camp after supper and found a septic tank at the Old School Camp in Matachewan was being pumped into the Montreal River under the cover of darkness. Nate took pictures, and he and the others were furious and wondered who they should call.
“The next morning, armed with these pictures and three witnesses willing to speak up, I contacted the Township office and informed them of what was going on. I then contacted the MOE (MECP) and was informed that they would be looking into it right away. I also contacted the OPP and was called back by Officer Legault from the Kirkland Lake detachment. I gave him a statement over the phone and sent photos to an evidence link he had supplied.
“A few days later, I sat down with Cheryl Swanson (CAO) at the Township of Matachewan, who said the MOE, MNR, and MPP John Vanthof had been contacted but had yet to receive a response.
A few days passed.
“With frustration mounting, we were eventually contacted by the MOE (MECP) investigator Anthony Bouche, saying that they were coming to investigate us, about a spill out the lids of our septic of our bunk house at 337 Matheson St. South. This is a $25,000 system installed three years ago, before we were able to open our 11-bedroom facility.
“His coming down on us with a false accusation did not sit well with me," Mr. Mccollam said. "The next day, Anthony (Anothony Bouche – MECP) called and said after speaking with John Dickenson from the health department, who oversees the septic systems in our town, he was not coming as it was unlikely this happened and acknowledged the false complaint was (allegedly) in retaliation for the complaint filed against Raj.
“This did not stop the building inspector and health inspector from coming out to our new restaurant the same day for surprise visits, also in response to Raj’s false complaints. We were, of course, found to be 100% compliant, but it still left me with a bad taste in my mouth. As no action had been taken against an operator who pumped, not leaked or spilled, his septic tank into the Montreal River, 200 feet from our drinking water plant. With pictures and witnesses to back up these claims. Still, nothing had been done.”
“It had now been three weeks since the septic was pumped, and it was business as usual for Old School Camp Matachewan. The only action that had been taken at this point was against the people who indeed had filed the complaint. The MOE (MECP), the Township, police, and the MNR would not respond to our inquiries other than saying 'cannot comment.'
Mr. Mccollam was tired of waiting for something to happen.
“Something had to be done," he said.
"With the urging of many residents, I decided to make my first Facebook post ever and to reach out to media outlets. I was trying to not let this get buried as I was starting to suspect a cover-up.
"As you can expect, the Facebook post, which included the pictures of the pumping with the water plant in the background, created a strong reaction amongst residents, including some of whom came to talk to the contractors at our restaurant at dinner time to confirm what they had witnessed. Confirming that they were, in fact, the first to file the formal complaints with the MOE and showed all of the photos, including the daytime picture, to allow the disbelievers to see for themselves.
“One of the folks that came into the restaurant was Matachewan First Nation Chief Alex (Sonny) Batisse. After talking to Nathaniel and the others, the Chief gave me permission to pass on his contact information to all media outlets I had already contacted.”
Chief Batisse has been Chief of Matachewan First Nation for eleven years.
“I was raised here on the First Nation, but did go off the rez to work at different times in my life," he said.
“What our First Nation got really upset with this incident was the actual dispersal of sewage into the Montreal River. I couldn’t believe this. But pictures say it all. Our community wants a full investigation into this matter, and we are pursuing this and won’t stop until this investigation is done to our satisfaction. This was a disgraceful thing to do.”
Mr. Mccollum went on to add, “Finally, on March 24, a month after the incident, the first CBC article appeared, followed by TimminsToday, and then BayToday. This finally made me feel like something would be done and stopped the barrage of false accusations online from Raj, he knew he was caught.”
The alleged pumping incident continued to escalate. “On April 3rd a man came into our new restaurant. I was working alone inside the new lodge, this man warned me I had better stop pursuing the septic issue. He then went into the restaurant, I asked him to leave and he refused, I took his picture and walked outside to go call the police, and he followed me out the front door, grabbed my shirt collar and he proceeded to punch me in the face in front of customers, who spoke with police afterwards. He fled but was arrested and charged within the hour and was later released in the afternoon. “
Clearcut another source of tension
As a sidebar to the main story, Mr. Mccollam described a previous incident involving Mr. Kumar.
“In 2023, he cut down all the old-growth trees on the river’s edge next to his property and pushed all the debris into the river. The township sent a boat and truck to clean the trees, etc. from the river, and Raj was sent a bill, so there is record of this at the Town office. The cleared trees were part of the provincial park system that protects the shoreline of the Montreal River. This incident was reported as well, but nothing came of it either, to the best of my knowledge.”
Mr. Mccollam is referring to West Montreal River Provincial Park, a non-operating park, but the park’s boundaries are not definitive when you look at Geospatial Ontario – all topo./imagery in Ontario and the park’s plan – the digital boundary is not clear.
“Chief Batisse (Matachewan First Nation- MFN) was provided with pictures of the river’s edge being cleared. They were taken and provided by our previous mayor, Mark Stickel.”
Chief Batisse said of this. “As for the tree removal, early summer of 2023. The question that comes to my attention is, 'What authority did this guy have to remove these trees?' I don't understand why the town didn't get involved with all these issues. I think they have a voice.
“Our FN does have a few IBA (Impact Benefit Agreement) agreements, and the closest one is Alamos (gold mine). Any sort of a spill or incident, we are notified right away.”
The former mayor, Stickel, said the removal of the trees (early summer of 2023) was “disgusting” and “there was a considerable cost to clean up our municipal beach (across the river-downstream) from the litter of the clear-cut.”
He said he has no confirmation that the MNR investigated.
Stickel also added, with regards to the alleged pumping, “Some residents will not swim at the beach this year.”
I was unable to confirm the tenure of the cleared land. Private land is not included in the park and, as such, the. policies and legislation of the Provincial Parks Act do not apply.
The park plan says, “West Montreal River Provincial Park is located approximately 60 kilometres to the west of Kirkland Lake and is only a few kilometres from the Town of Matachewan (Figure 1).”
There are work-related guidelines within many provincial acts, and with the Canadian Navigable Waters Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. N-22), there are applications for approval. Also, there are Ontario Power Generation water rights-of-way and buffers as the Indian Chute Generating Station is nearby. The West Montreal River is included within the traditional territory of the Matachewan First Nation.
Ken’s partner, Lindsay Neal, posted about the incident on March 21 on Facebook.
Mr. Mccollam reflects on the situation.
“I feel none of this would have happened if any of the authorities that were contacted, including the MECP (MOE), OPP, MNR had responded in the beginning and not let tensions build as they did.”
Raj Kumar addresses allegations, raises some
Rajnessh Kumar denies the allegations. He has lived in the community for more than five years.
He forwarded some background and his side of the story. When in the community, I looked for him and left messages at his two businesses. He promptly called me back.
“My name is Raj, also known as Rajneesh Kumar (Raj N Nidhi on Facebook), and I reside with my family in the picturesque town of Matachewan. We are a husband and wife with one child who is seven years old.
"I was raised in Leeds, United Kingdom, and I am now a proud citizen of Canada. I possess two commercial properties in town and a residential property in Hamilton."
He holds a Master’s degree in Electronics Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Leeds University in the UK.
“I have worked as a Senior Manager at RBC Bank, as well as a Director and Senior Manager at BMO Bank.”
He went on to offer his account of events in February.
“In February 2025, I was absent from Matachewan from Thursday until Sunday for nearly the entire month due to less work. I returned back to Matachewan, and the following day, I encountered an officer from the Ministry of Environment (MECP), who informed me that there had been a complaint regarding septic waste being discharged into the river.
"He conducted a thorough inspection of my entire property prior to his departure. I informed the officer that the septic system was pumped out on February 15, 2025, by a company located in Kirkland Lake.”
Online research, within the Matachewan catchment area, indicates there at the minimum two such services in Kirkland Lake, one near Temiskaming Shores and three in Timmins.
“One month later, on March 24, 2025, I came across a Facebook post depicting a pump descending into the septic tank hole, with someone asserting to have captured a photograph of the pump connected to the septic tank, albeit not operational. The image was posted by our business competitors, Lindsay Neal and Ken Mccollam.
"I inquired with all staff members, and they denied seeing any pump on the septic tank. Two officers from the Ministry of Environment visited our site, indicating that Ken had been persistently contacting them, which prompted their visit; otherwise, they stated that their photograph does not substantiate any septic water being pumped out. They further noted that the type of pump depicted cannot remove septic waste, especially from the deep septic tank we have.
“According to them, these water pumps are designed for the movement of clean water and are not equipped to manage the solid waste and sludge typically found in septic tanks. The pump featured in the Facebook image does not belong to us, and we have also lodged a complaint regarding this matter with the OPP.”
“I reached out to the Township of Matachewan concerning the river water testing report conducted from February 25, 2025, to March 25, 2025. The report revealed no fecal contamination in the river.”
There are regular water tests by the municipality.
“Currently, Lindsay and Ken have been visiting the parking lot of my property almost every few days, advising individuals to refrain from utilizing our business. Several of our clients have raised concerns regarding this behaviour and have vacated the premises as a result. I have already filed complaints about this with the mine and the police.
“I reported the incident to the police on the same day I observed the Facebook comment. In that report, I stated that the situation was entirely fabricated.”
Mr. Kumar then spoke of a racial slur regarding his child.
“My son, who is currently in the second grade, notified me last week that a child from Matachewan, who rides the same school bus, assaulted him. I reported this incident to the school, and they subsequently responded to me.”
Mr. Kumar provided emails to/from the District School Board Ontario North-East principal, Federal Public School, Farren-Lee Mancuso, on March 27.
“The principal outlined the process of resolution. Starting with, 'Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. I was very disappointed and saddened to read about what had been said to Kabir. I spoke with Kabir yesterday to gain a better understanding about the exchange that took place,' which led to a consultation with the other student and an apology."
I reviewed the emails Mr. Kumar provided and confirmed there was a detailed process.
As per the tree removal in the early summer of 2023 he said, “We took out two old trees and they were 30 ft away from our property. Yes, they did belong to our property.
“We had inspections of the trees, and they were very near to our cottage and could be harmful to them.
“As for human nature, people complained to the MOE. They did a check and gave us clearance."
The Old School Camp is currently closed for renovations and he expects to reopen on May 1. He also forwarded photos of the setting of the Old School Camp.
Small town tries to keep peace on backroads
Where is the town in all of this? It's a very small rural community.
“The Ontario Clean Water Agency tests our wells weekly, we have two wells adjacent to the Montreal River. Well 1 is at a depth of 39.6 m and well 2 is at a depth of 55 m.," said Cheryl Swanson, CAO/Clerk-Treasurer for the Township.
“I can not comment on who is compliant within the Township of Matachewan. The municipality cannot do anything at this point as it is in the hands of the MECP (MOE).”
Mayor Mike Young said of the timeline.
“This has been going on for quite some time. We would like to have some information so we can inform the constituents, everyone knows.”
On the Township of Matachewan Facebook page, there was a Public Notice on March 19, 24 days after the alleged incident.
It asked, “Any witnessing of spills into our waterways is to be reported to the Spills Action Center at 1-800-268-6060, along with any recent pictures or videos.”
MECP Process
This is a matter that is being investigated, and there are stringent compliance guidelines to be understood by all of us.
Gary Wheeler from the MECP (MOE) responded immediately to my query.
“Hi Bill, for your questions.”
“The ministry has conducted site visits and inspections of the property at the source of the allegations and has been in contact with the property owner, members of the public and other stakeholders.”
He said, “In accordance with our compliance policy, the ministry has also issued a Provincial Officer’s Order to the Matachewan business and its directors. The order requires them to manage sewage from the property in accordance with provincial environmental legislation, assess the sewage systems on the property and obtain an environmental compliance approval for sewage works on the property.”
Society must realize investigations take time, and recovering facts is ongoing work, and there is a comprehensive process.
He explained,
“The ministry takes these matters very seriously and is committed to taking further action in line with our compliance policy to ensure the protection of human health and the environment.” For more information about the ministry’s compliance policy and the process we employ, see this post.
Another question was regarding the details of discovery.
“For more information regarding how the ministry responds to complaints, please refer to the ministry’s website, 'What to expect when an environmental or water compliance officer inspects your facility' at the following location - What to expect when an environmental or water compliance officer inspects your facility.”
When the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks receives a complaint, there is a structured process to ensure compliance with environmental laws. This is important to the story’s chronological outcome.
He said, “Generally, we follow these steps: Receipt of Complaint: The ministry receives the complaint through various channels such as phone, email, or online forms. Then there is an Initial Assessment: The complaint is assessed to determine its validity and the potential risk to the environment. Followed by a Site Visit / Inspection Planning: If the complaint is deemed valid, an inspection plan is developed. This may include identifying the location, potential sources of pollution, and the necessary resources.
"Within the site visit/inspection, environmental officers have the authority to enter facilities, collect samples, take photographs, and review records.
"Officers gather information through interviews, documentation review, and environmental sampling. The collected data is analyzed to determine if there has been a violation of environmental laws. If a violation is found, the ministry may take enforcement actions, which can include issuing warnings, fines, or orders to correct the issue. The ministry may conduct follow-up site visits/inspections to ensure compliance with any corrective actions ordered.”
The ministry is bound by legislation on how much time is allowed to investigate and commence proceedings (charges) once the ministry is made aware of the alleged offences.
“As the investigation remains ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
This was well explained, and the process is important for any outcome.
Anthony Boucher was the ministry’s attending, inspecting officer for Mr. Oudyk’s complaint. At the publication time of this story, he said, “The process is ongoing” (as per the above process.)
Ontario Provincial Police comment - or not
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were contacted on April 19 to substantiate the stories provided. Officers (Legault and Senf) from the Kirkland Lake detachment were involved in both Mr. McCollum’s and Mr. Kumar’s forwarded comments.
Staff Sergeant Jeffrey Del Guidice, Media Relations, Ontario Provincial Police, Orillia, eventually replied (to the third query), but the information I requested was not received before publication.
This story reminded me of another time when I presented to Crime Stoppers a concept of Nature Watch – similar, but in the outdoors context, providing the same anonymous reporting process. That didn’t seem to go anywhere, but now an MNR TIPS Line - 1-877-847-7667 or 1-877-TIPS MNR - and online reporting mechanism exists, which looks at the various crimes in nature, and the Spill Line - 1-866-MOE-TIPS (663-8477) or 416-325-3000, - which Mr. Oudyk utilized. Who are you going to call? Not Ghostbusters.
Where to find the best messenger?
Mainstream media report events on a macro scale, mostly related to more populated areas. At the other end of the continuum, there are conflicts as well. In some rural areas, there is a shortage of professional news media to contact for coverage, dictated by distance.
Editor Carol Martin of Village Media explains that, as a journalist for more than 20 years, she sees the media landscape in a state of change.
“Social media and local news are tools. Their usefulness depends on the goal you want to realize. Based on trends I'm seeing, social media is in flux. People are platform-hopping around Instagram, Bluesky, Mastodon and others, as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) become increasingly polarizing, less-trustworthy and less relevant. Those once-ubiquitous platforms are filling up with 'sponsored posts' that are almost always scams, posts by bots designed to make people angry, and memes. There is very little there to keep thinking people interested and engaged, but a great place to stir up angry people and sell stuff."
She said the news media are also in flux.
“Hedge-fund-owned national newspapers are losing staff and credibility as profit becomes the only goal. Television news is still there, but it's becoming less community-oriented and more centralized as it also reduces staff and closes offices. Radio news is all but gone.”
There are challenges to covering the news.
“We’re left with a growing digital news presence that is not without its challenges. Advertisers have been slow to grasp the idea that online advertising is a viable alternative to flyers. Social media sites like Facebook offer affordable advertising that still reaches a lot of people and can be targeted to be more effective.
"The national newspapers added digital versions of their papers and tend to wrap them together with the papers as a package deal, both for subscribers and advertisers. They've kind of ended up with the worst of both worlds. Falling subscriber numbers mean fewer advertising sales, less money for staff and even less relevance, so more subscribers are lost as they go looking for community news.
“I'm biased, but I would say that, overall, the most reliable way to get information to as many people as possible is digitally. Between social media and news sites, I believe news sites are more reliable and trustworthy than social media, but social media can go viral more easily. If you understand your market and medium and craft a post that works for them, either can be as effective at reaching a broad audience.
"It's difficult to say where the social media landscape will go in the near future, but digital community news is here to stay and growing steadily. If I had only one egg, I'd put it in that basket.”
The story continues
Stand by. The clock is ticking. The alleged incident was reported on February 23, followed up by MECP two days later. Then, on March 24, the first media stories and Facebook post by the municipality appeared. On April 26, this story is released amid an ongoing environmental investigation. We will have to await the MECP process and report.
Here is the map link.
When standing on the Montreal River bridge watching the mesmerizing downstream current, there was a fleeting reminder of the Brad Pitt movie entitled A River Runs Through It. But the storyline here is very different as are the emotions attached to this place on the back roads.
