The construction of oil pipelines in Canada is a contentious issue. Proponents want Alberta’s crude oil shipped to markets elsewhere in the country. Opponents disapprove of pipelines and advocate for clean energy.

However my analysis of federal government data shows pipeline accidents and incidents have been on the rise in Ontario, where TransCanada wants to build a new pipeline Energy East. This pipeline would send crude oil from the Prairies to Eastern Canada.

This data shows that Ontario oil pipeline accidents and incidents peaked at 25 in 2009. It has remained high above 20 per year since. (While 2013 is an exception to the rule, 2015 is low because the data is incomplete.)

Tim Duboyce, senior communications specialist for TransCanada, ensures there is no need for residents to worry about pipeline spills.

“In case of an emergency,” he said, “we’re literally six mouse clicks away from shutting the pipeline down. There’s a culture of prudence. If we think there’s a problem, we shut it down.”

According to this dataset, TransCanada accounts for 112 of the 195 total accidents in Ontario since 2004. The next highest is Enbridge with 50 reported accidents.

Ecology Ottawa volunteer Mike Fletcher is opposed to the construction of new pipelines. “Whenever Trans Canada has held an event close to us,” he said, “I’ve been involved one way or another.”

The apparent rise in pipeline accidents and incidents in Ontario validates many of the concerns of groups like Fletcher’s.

According to the data, however, there have only been eight accidents or incidents that resulted in “environmental damage” nationwide since 2004.

I sorted and filtered the data in Excel to draw these conclusions. The charts and graphs featured above were also made with the data processed in Excel.

According to the TSB dataset, “accidents” or “incidents” occur at the following locations: compressor stations, gas-processing plants, line pipes, meter stations and pump stations. The nature of these incidents varies from fires and explosions to “uncontained releases.” (As far as I am concerned, this term is jargon for an oil spill or a gas leak.)

I used data collected and published by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) earlier this year as part of its Pipeline Occurrence Database System (PODS). The data includes accidents and incidents reported to the TSB from January 2004 to present. Data is updated on the fifteenth day of every month, and this particular dataset includes incidents as recent as October 2015.

The federal government’s open data website issues a disclaimer that the oldest data is the most reliable, and that the most recent information may not have been confirmed and is therefore subject to change.