Mysterious mountain of dirt appears in Toronto neighbourhood
Residents of a Toronto neighbourhood want answers after a massive pile of dirt appeared and no one seems to know where it came from.
“It's an eyesore. Look at it. It's a mountain. A three-storey mountain of dirt,” Francesca Pivetta told CTV News Toronto at the site near Old Weston Road and St. Clair Avenue West.
“We can't open up the windows. The house is full of dirt. It's difficult to breathe,” she said.
Those who live in the area said they first noticed the dirt piling up about two months ago at the parking lot of the former Toronto Weston Flea Market, which closed down in 2019.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Gord Autterson rents a plot of land at the Silverthorne Allotment Garden next door and said the residual dust rolling off the mountain is a problem.
“We don't know where that dirt, that soil, is coming from all the dust is blowing over onto stuff that we need,” Autterson said.
A massive dirt pile has been growing in Toronto's Stockyards District for two months and no one seems to know where it came from.
Contractors working in the area who spoke to CTV News Toronto said the dirt did not come from nearby construction projects.
Toronto City Councillor Ana Bailão, who represents Ward 9 – Davenport where the pile is located, could not be reached for comment.
At the same time, a spokesperson for the City of Toronto said in an email that staff are investigating the accumulation of dirt and its origins.
"The City is investigating the activity taking place at 404 Old Weston Road and a referral has been made to the Ministry of Environment for their investigation into this issue," the spokesperson said, adding that a site foreman has "assured" the city that they are working to remove the soil as quickly as possible.
With files from Sean Leathong
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.