Grassy Narrows sues over mercury pollution

Ottawa, province put industry ahead of First Nation's health, suit alleges

- MORGAN SEVAREID-BOCKNEK, ROB FERGUSON

Grassy Narrows First Nation Chief Rudy Turtle, left, joins grandmothers Judy Da Silva and Chrissy Isaacs on the steps of Queen's Park on Tuesday after being refused entry to serve a statement of claim to Premier Doug Ford regarding contamination of water in their community.

Grassy Narrows First Nation is suing the federal and provincial governments, alleging Canadian and Ontarian officials have consistently put the profits of industry ahead of an Indigenous community poisoned by dumped mercury waste.

The lawsuit accuses the governments of allowing the Wabigoon River to be polluted, then neglecting to remediate it, while simultaneously authorizing industrial production and prospecting. In doing so, Canada and Ontario violated their treaty obligations by failing to ensure the Indigenous community could safely practise its right to fish, the lawsuit alleges.

“Time and again the government has chosen to prioritize corporate profits at our expense. Our mercury nightmare should have ended long ago, but it has been longer and worse because of the government’s failure to live up to its obligations,” said Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle.

Despite officials’ repeated promises to clean up the mercury-polluted river, the neurotoxin remains in the food chain. Recent research suggests levels are worse than previously believed.

The river was first polluted in the 1960s, when the paper mill upstream from the First Nation dumped mercury into the water.

In 2017, Ontario — faced with evidence that mercury remained in soil, fish and river sediment — promised to address the “gross neglect.” Though officials committed $85 million to the effort, the project is still in the research phase. Frustrated at what they say is the lack of progress and compensation for ongoing harm, Grassy Narrows leaders say they have been left with no choice but to sue.