{"id":91965,"date":"2017-03-01T20:34:10","date_gmt":"2017-03-02T01:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=91965"},"modified":"2025-01-11T02:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-11T07:52:10","slug":"feds-play-support-not-lead-in-grassy-narrows-mercury-contamination-trudeau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/03\/01\/feds-play-support-not-lead-in-grassy-narrows-mercury-contamination-trudeau\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds play support, not lead, in Grassy Narrows mercury contamination: Trudeau"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Trudeau's<\/a>
Trudeau’s remarks come after a new report \u2013 commissioned by Grassy Narrows First Nation and funded by Ontario \u2013 found there is ongoing mercury contamination in the area from a paper mill in Dryden, Ont., that was decommissioned decades ago. (Photo: Mohammad Jangda\/ Flickr<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OTTAWA \u2013The ongoing mercury poisoning on the Grassy Narrows First Nation is \u201cvery much\u201d an Ontario issue, Justin Trudeau says \u2013 a point of contention for indigenous leaders who want action on the prime minister’s personal promise to address the problem \u201conce and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trudeau’s remarks come after a new report \u2013 commissioned by Grassy Narrows First Nation and funded by Ontario \u2013 found there is ongoing mercury contamination in the area from a paper mill in Dryden, Ont., that was decommissioned decades ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Grassy Narrows issue is very much a provincial issue,\u201d he told a news conference Wednesday in Calgary.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the federal government, under my leadership, is certainly very engaged with the province to ensure we are moving forward in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The northwestern Ontario community, located near the Manitoba border, has struggled to deal with poisoning since the mill dumped 9,000 kilograms of mercury into the Wabigoon and English River systems in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

Contamination remains a serious concern for the community, Health Minister Jane Philpott said earlier Wednesday in Ottawa \u2013 but she also made it clear the federal government sees the problem as primarily an Ontario one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are serious challenges and that’s why it has to be a matter that is addressed with the utmost seriousness,\u201d she said. \u201cThe province has the lead on this and we, in the federal government, will continue to support them.<\/p>\n

buy cialis super active online https:\/\/dcsmentalhealth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/jpg\/cialis-super-active.html<\/a> no prescription pharmacy <\/div>\n

\u201d<\/p>\n

Ottawa must firmly commit to help clean up the toxic material, said Chief Simon Fobister, who met Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett on Monday.<\/p>\n

He said he hasn’t heard an official response to this request, adding his people are still suffering.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinister Bennett was really mum on that,\u201d Fobister said.<\/p>\n

buy valtrex online https:\/\/insighttherapeutics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/jpg\/valtrex.html<\/a> no prescription pharmacy <\/div>\n

\u201cWe are asking what their role is now.<\/p>\n

buy super kamagra online https:\/\/dcsmentalhealth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/jpg\/super-kamagra.html<\/a> no prescription pharmacy <\/div>\n

\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement, Bennett’s office said it is providing access to expertise and information from other departments to help the reserve deal with the contamination, noting it is also working on renewing the Mercury Disability Board \u2013 a panel designed to implement settlement terms.<\/p>\n

Canada’s monitoring of risks to Grassy Narrows has been a terrible failure for decades, said David Sone, an environmental justice advocate with the group Earthroots.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one has bothered to do this simple test which now reveals that decades of avoidable mercury pollution has likely been leaking into the river,\u201d Sone said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the monitoring had been adequate, we could have gotten to the bottom of this problem decades ago, stopped ongoing leaks, and there would be children in Grassy Narrows today living free from the burden of mercury poisoning.\u201d<\/p>\n

A January statement from Trudeau said Health Canada is responsible for and is \u201cactively monitoring water quality, the safety of the food supply and health risks to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three generations are suffering from impacts of mercury poisoning in the community, Sone added, noting they include aging elders and youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears that mercury has been leaking into their river from the old mill site while generations of people are made sick,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTop international experts in mercury and human health say that there is no doubt that people in Grassy Narrows have been impacted by mercury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Ontario MP Charlie Angus, a leadership candidate for the federal New Democrats, said Trudeau explicitly said both governments would address the tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the value of the prime minister’s word if he’s not going to live up to a community that has been so brutally poisoned?\u201d he said. \u201cNow they are walking away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angus said he wrote to Trudeau earlier this year to ask for a federal commitment in no uncertain terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to need to see firm commitments to clean up this community because people are still being poisoned and people are still dying and it absolutely unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA \u2013The ongoing mercury poisoning on the Grassy Narrows First Nation is \u201cvery much\u201d an Ontario issue, Justin Trudeau says …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":91968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[16006,11237],"class_list":["post-91965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-news","tag-grassy-narrows-first-nation","tag-prime-minister-justin-trudeau","mauthors-kristy-kirkup","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91965"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282605,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91965\/revisions\/282605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}