Ward 10 candidate asks who runs the air sampler by E.J. Lajeunesse

Ward 10 candidate Mark Masanovich says an air sampler sits beside École E.J. Lajeunesse, near Zalev Brothers, and it's unclear who runs it. It's not on provincial or federal station lists. We asked the ministry, the City and all Ward 10 candidates.

Topics: Election 2026

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Ward 10 council candidate Mark Masanovich says an outdoor air sampler sits beside École secondaire E.J. Lajeunesse, just west of the Zalev Brothers Co. scrap metal yard, and that it's unclear who runs it or who gets the results. Windsor News checked the public record and put his questions to the province, the City and the other Ward 10 candidates.

What the release says

In a release posted on his campaign website this week, Masanovich says the equipment sits near the school's sports field and "looks dated." He says it appears to collect airborne particles that are later analyzed in a laboratory, which he calls "still a valid testing method," but that results are hard to find and the system doesn't give continuous readings or automatic reports.

He asks for five things:

confirm the sampler's age, condition and capabilities

release its sampling schedule, the pollutants it tests for and its past results

assess the need for continuous air monitoring, including airborne metals

make the results easy for the public to find

add a second station on the east side of the ward, in the Remington Park area at or near Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

"The City of Windsor can push the province for answers, transparency, and necessary improvements or move forward on its own," the release says. It's a campaign pledge, not City policy, and the release doesn't give a cost.

What the public record shows

Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks lists two Windsor stations in its published air monitoring network: Windsor Downtown, at 467 University Ave. W., and Windsor West, at College Avenue and South Street. Neither is at the school. The ministry's live Air Quality Ontario readings, checked Saturday, showed the same two Windsor stations.

Environment and Climate Change Canada's National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) station list also shows those two as Windsor's active sites.

The ministry already measures heavy metals in fine particles at Windsor West. Its 2023 report lists the instrument as a Cooper Environmental Xact 625.

Zalev Brothers' air approval in the province's Access Environment registry, issued in 2001 for 100 Grand Marais Rd. E., covers a kiln and its dust collector. It requires testing at the stack, not monitoring in the neighbourhood.

In 1987, the ministry surveyed mercury in the air on and around the Zalev property with a mobile monitoring unit, including during the cleanup of a mercury spill on the site.

In 2016, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit investigated a lung cancer cluster in Remington Park. Its report said the ministry ran two ambient air monitoring stations and five research monitoring stations in the Windsor area, and that "two privately operated monitors" collected information on air emissions from an industrial facility. Its town hall presentation to residents called it "a nearby industrial facility." Neither document named the facility or said where the monitors were.

The health unit found that tobacco smoke was the only lung cancer carcinogen all 12 people in its study had been exposed to. It said that, based on air data up to 2015, no lung cancer carcinogens exceeded Ontario's air quality standards in the Windsor area.

Windsor News didn't find any public record saying who runs the sampler by the school or where its results go.

What we asked

On Oct. 24, Windsor News asked the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks who operates the sampler, whether it's one of the monitors described in 2016, what it measures and how often, where the results are and whether it will release them, whether any metals readings have gone over Ontario's standards, and whether continuous monitoring is planned for Ward 10. A ministry spokesperson replied Saturday that they were "looking into this," but the ministry had not answered the questions by the deadline of noon on Sunday, Oct. 25.

We asked the City whether it runs the sampler or gets its results, whether it has asked the province for results or upgrades, and where it stands on a second station near Remington Park. The City's environmental sustainability office sent an automatic reply saying it would respond within one to two business days. The City had not answered by the deadline.

We asked Masanovich how he learned about the sampler and whether he has asked the ministry or the City about it. He said residents across the ward have raised the scrapyard, dust and air quality for years. "Through conversations with neighbours, people familiar with the issue and some further digging, we were able to locate the air quality monitor," he said. He didn't say whether he has contacted the ministry or the City. "We're still gathering information and looking for clear answers, so I don't want to get ahead of the facts," he said.

Where the other Ward 10 candidates stand

We asked the other three certified Ward 10 candidates for their position on air monitoring in the ward and on making results public. Listed alphabetically:

Wally Chafchak: "Air quality readings must be public but the source like Zalev is the issue that have been ignored."

Adam Ibrahim did not respond by the deadline.

Jim Morrison, the incumbent, did not respond by the deadline.

Voting Day is Monday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.