Transcona residents express odour outrage

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This article was published 25/01/2021 (1431 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Complaints of a distinctive “skunky” smell in East Transcona have sparked an effort to determine the cause.

Coun. Shawn Nason (Transcona) said his office has received about a dozen complaints about the odour, which some residents reported in the summer and others noted just after Christmas.

“When we have strong winds blowing from the south to the north, that skunky smell (like) burning marijuana was evident … It’s significant and I experienced it myself a few weeks ago,” said Nason.

Transcona MLA Nello Altomare’s office confirmed he’s received similar complaints.

Nason said some residents reported the smell made them feel nauseous and have shared concerns about possible health effects.

He’s now directing residents to submit complaints to Delta 9, which operates a licensed cannabis cultivation and processing facility in the area.

Nason said Delta 9 is now working to determine if the odour is related to its facility.

“They’re wanting to be good neighbours,” he said.

John Arbuthnot, chief executive officer of Delta 9 Cannabis, said this is the first time the company has received an odour complaint since it began operating the Transcona site in 2013.

“We actually have fairly exhaustive systems in place at our facilities to mitigate odour … We’re actually typically cleaning the air within the facility about every five to seven minutes on average,” said Arbuthnot.

“We are monitoring whether there is any odour escaping from the facility and it appears from our records that that is a very rare occurrence, if ever,” he added.

The business owner said it is possible the smell could actually come from homes licensed to grow medicinal marijuana or from illegal grow ops. However, he stressed that while Delta 9 is “surprised” by the complaint, the company will do all it can to determine if its own operations are causing the unwanted smell.

“If any odour is emanating from the facility, obviously we want to be good neighbours and be conscientious of that,” said Arbuthnot.

He said Delta 9 has set up a dedicated email — community@delta9.ca — to take in odour reports. He asks that anyone who decides to file a compliant be as detailed as possible about the time, duration and location of the smell.

“Any of those factors would help us change our operations, if necessary, and improve odour filtration, (to) make sure that we are not … creating any bad odours for the community,” said Arbuthnot.

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