Grassy Narrows is asking the federal and provincial governments for compensation for the ongoing mercury crisis, to increase social program funding in the community, and to establish a local mercury survivors home and care centre without further delay. The change was made on Canada Day, a few hours after Premier Doug Ford’s office posted a news release that listed more than a dozen regulatory and legislative changes within 11 ministries. Japanese and Canadian mercury experts have confirmed that Grassy Narrows people have been made sick by this mercury. In 1962, Dryden Chemicals Ltd. began operating a chlor-alkali plant in Dryden, Ontario. Glowacki was working at the Dryden, ON pulp and paper mill that dumped 9 tonnes of mercury into the English-Wabigoon river system in the 1960s. Fish, their main source of food, contained extremely high levels of mercury from toxic dumping by the Dryden Chemicals pulp and paper mill upstream (Kraus 2013). All The region affected includes a huge swath of central and Northern Ontario forests, between Manitoba and Quebec, according to the province. Studies have shown that clear-cut logging, which is the practice in the crown Boreal forest lands that surround the Grassy Narrows traditional territory, releases mercury that had previously settled in the soil after blowing north, often from industries in the United States. To order copies of Others are very specific to Grassy Narrows and neighboring Whitedog Nation: a paper mill that dumped mercury upstream for over a decade. When Glowacki’s letter came to light this summer, Grassy Narrows residents were shocked that the province had not taken immediate action to investigate the dump site. Hundreds of residents have suffered chronic health problems related to mercury exposure since the 1960s, when a chemical plant at the Reed Paper mill in Dryden, Ont., dumped 9,000 kilograms of mercury into the river community members rely on for fishing. Grassy Narrows elder: ‘When you have mercury you have it for life’ – Dec 3, 2019 Bowater, which eventually became Resolute, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. The clear-cut logging … In the 1960s and early 1970s, the Reed Paper plant dumped 10 tonnes of mercury waste into the adjacent Wabigoon River upstream from Grassy Narrows. Between 1962 and 1970, a paper plant in Dryden, Ont., dumped 10 tonnes of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, in the Wabigoon River, upstream from Grassy Narrows. "From birth, even today, you get stuff that affects the nerves," Fobister said. In the 1960s, the Dryden Chemical Company used mercury in a process to create the materials needed to bleach paper at a paper mill along the English-Wabigoon River, just 320 kilometers upstream from Grassy Narrows. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the Reed Paper plant dumped 10 tonnes of mercury waste into the adjacent Wabigoon River upstream from Grassy Narrows. By 1970, the Ontario government closed down the commercial fishery and issued formal warnings against fish consumption, a dietary staple of Grassy Narrows residents, due to the extremely high levels of toxic mercury found in fish. The airborne emissions of mercury continued unabated until the company stopped using mercury cells in its chloralkali process in October 1975; the company closed down in 1976. During the 1960s, a chemical plant in Dryden dumped more than nine tons of mercury into the area’s water system. Decades of promises, but little action as mercury still takes lives in Grassy Narrows Apr 03, 2019 It’s been half a century since a pulp and paper mill in Dryden, Ont. “If you were to do a keyword search in the (crown forest act) the words ‘human’ and ‘health’ will not show up,” said Joseph Castrilli, a lawyer with the Canadian Environmental Law Association. Will you take a moment of your time to write to the Ontario government and demand that it fulfill the commitment to remediate this site? First Nations people from Grassy Narrows, Ont., continue to suffer the effects of mercury poisoning more than 40 years after commercial fishing was closed, a new report shows. It has been almost 50 years since the revelation its fish had been poisoned by tonnes of mercury dumped into its river system by a paper mill owned by Reed Paper Ltd., in … Beginning in the 1960s, Reed Paper dumped tons-upon-tons of toxic mercury, a by-product of paper bleaching, into the Wabigoon River. Chief Rudy Turtle signed the framework agreement with Indigenous Services Canada Thursday, which commits $19.5 million towards the construction of the mercury care home. People in the community have been living with mercury poisoning ever since. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. Mercury poisoning impairs peripheral vision, hearing, speech, and cognitive function. The former Liberal government in Ontario said it would spend $85 million on remediating the contaminated waterways upstream of Grassy Narrows. The Ford government must act now to find the buried mercury barrels and to comprehensively investigate the mill site. I’m sure you’re as shocked as I am by reading today’s Toronto Star report that the Ontario government is dragging its feet on commitments to search for mercury at the infamous Dryden mill site – mercury that may still be contaminating the waters of Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation. The current plan for the Whiskey Jack Forest, home to Grassy Narrows, ends in 2022. The government says it is “ending duplication” by removing logging activities from the Environmental Assessment Act, which falls under the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Between 1962 and 1970, the company dumped an estimated 9,000 kg of untreated mercury into the English-Wabigoon river system, upstream from Grassy Narrows and Whitedog First Nations. to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about Other symptoms include muscle weakness, numbness or stinging pain. So have many in Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, also known as Whitedog First Nation, about 130 kilometres away. The environment ministry said the elimination is part of the government’s “environmental assessment modernization efforts.”. Grassy Narrows’ legacy of mercury poisoning began in 1962, when the paper plant in Dryden, then owned by Reed Paper, began to dump mercury into … Current status GRASSY NARROWS — Recent reports have raised alarm over the impact of mercury poisoning on those who eat fish from the lakes and rivers surrounding Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation), located 80 kilometres north of Kenora — but despite the risks, many residents continue to eat the fish: there are simply too few other options for food. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Landmark study reveals ‘clear evidence’ of mercury’s toll on health in Grassy Narrows, Contaminated water, poor health care and high cancer rates have plagued this remote First Nation. permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com. When the company was finished with the mercury cells, it would dump them into the river. The property is now known to harbour significant amounts of mercury, including some that was illegally buried in steel drums decades ago. The mercury … expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto “We don’t need any more. About usTake ActionCampaignsAnalysisUpdatesContact Us, Donate nowRenew your supportOther ways to give, The Council of Canadians 200-240 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 1X4, Tel. Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle welcomed Friday’s announcement. “If you clear-cut an area with watershed, you are going to end up with mercury in the water system,” Castrilli said. The discovery of mercury poisoning in 1970 was a devastating blow to Grassy Narrows. The tipster alleged that decades ago mercury was dumped in barrels and buried in a plastic-lined pit. 1969-70: High levels of mercury are discovered in the water and fish downriver from the plant. It was estimated that over 9,000 kg of mercury had been dumped by the company into the Wabigoon-English river system between 1962 and 1970. With logging now excluded from the Environmental Assessment Act, Grassy Narrows First Nation leaders like Joseph Fobister fear the community will take yet another hit from mercury poisoning. In the 1960s and early 1970s, a chemical plant dumped around 10 tons of toxic mercury into a river upstream from Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (also known as “Grassy Narrows … “Basically, the (act) deals with trees, deals with how to make them commercially available, deals with wildlife, but it is not a statute about how to protect human health,” Castrilli said. : 613-233-2773, 1-800-387-7177, Fax: 613-233-6776, inquiries@canadians.org, Push back against Doug Ford and developers, Guelph Chapter's Lin Grist testifies on homecare bill to Ontario government. 1963: The community of Grassy Narrows is moved several kilometres south by order of the federal government to make the reserve accessible by provincial roads. The Grassy Narrows … Indigenous communities in Ontario’s north fear another round of mercury poisoning after the provincial government eliminated environmental assessments for commercial clear-cutting on Crown forest land. To order CBC video journalist Peter Wall returns to Grassy Narrows, 40 years after the community was poisoned with Mercury. Ninety per cent of our people are suffering from mercury poisoning. Republication or distribution of this content is The federal government has paid more than $9 million for compensation to the First Nations affected by the mercury contamination. Now, logging plans and practices will only be answerable to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and its Crown Forest Sustainability Act. The people of Grassy Narrows deserve justice – they deserve clean land and water and for these illegally dumped contaminants to be fully removed and the area restored. During the 1960s, the Dryden pulp and paper mill, operated by Reed Paper, dumped 10 tonnes of mercury into the Wabigoon River that feeds Grassy Narrows and nearby Wabaseemoong (Whitedog) Independent Nations. 1970: The government of Ontario closes the Wabigoon-English river system commercial fishery, removing one of the primary sources of income for residents of Grassy Narrows. “We are not happy about this,” said Fobister, a member of the land protection team that blocks logging on Grassy Narrows territory in the Whiskey Jack Forest. Residents of Grassy Narrows First Nation, about 100 kilometres northeast of Kenora, Ont., have grappled with long-standing mental and physical health issues due to toxic mercury levels in the nearby English-Wabigoon River. This is just not a good decision.”. 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