investigation into the oilsands tailings leak at Imperial’s facility in northern Alberta has been initiated by Canada.

On Thursday, Canada’s federal environment ministry launched a formal investigation into a tailings leak that occurred at Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands mine located in northern Alberta.

The investigation by Environment Canada is centered on a suspected breach of the Fisheries Act, which prohibits the deposit of harmful substances into water inhabited by fish or any area where such substances could infiltrate fish-bearing water.

The inquiry was prompted by two incidents of poisonous oilsands tailings water being released from the Kearl mine situated north of Fort McMurray.

The initial occurrence of discolored water close to a tailings pond was discovered in May and was identified as tailings leakage.

However, no updates were given to the nearby First Nations until February, when it was disclosed to the public and federal and provincial environment ministers, alongside a second event that saw 5.3 million litres of tailings released.