CBC

Montreal Mayor Pierre Bourque is upset over the reaction time of authorities handling the tear gas incident in the city's subway system. A tear gas canister was released on Sunday, sending 50 people to hospital with respiratory problems, throat irritations and itchy eyes. While officials were on the scene almost immediately, they waited five hours before a chemical expert showed up to assess the situation. Bourque says it's disappointing that they had to wait so long and that he's unhappy with the way it was handled. The city's transit authority will be discussing the incident in a news conference on Thursday.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), September 05, 2001