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On April 29, 2011, Alberta suffered its worst oil spill in 36 years when a pipeline broke spilling 28,000 barrels of oil into a remote area of the boreal forest. The spill occurred just 300 meters from local waterways. The Lubicon Cree Nation is settled 10-kilometers east of the spill. The town of 300 was enveloped by odours which caused several members of the community to become sick. It took five days before Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner became aware residents were being adversely affected by the spill. Even then, he "could not say for sure" if the odour making residents sick was coming from the spill.