“Ontario and Domtar must allow trusted experts to find the buried barrels of mercury and investigate contaminated soil and groundwater at the mill site immediately. It defines an indemnity as a kind of financial protection against future liabilities. The mercury disposal site was built in 1971 to contain waste that was previously dumped straight into the river. The … Stopping this pollution, and compensating those affected, was one of the great environmental causes of the 1970s and early 80s. It is unclear if this case sets any environmental precedent, or will impact similar cases of pollution in the future, as it depended upon technical legal arguments around the wording of the indemnity contract. 1970: The government of Ontario closes the Wabigoon-English river system commercial fishery, removing one of the primary sources of … Mercury poisoning has become a problem of current interest as a result of environmental pollution on a global scale. “The Asabiinyashkosiwagong Nitam-Anishinaabeg or the “Grassy Narrows First Nation” and their downstream neighbours, the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations (then known as the “Whitedog Community of the Islington Band of Saulteaux”) sought compensation for loss of jobs and way of life. “Members of Wabaseemoong Independent Nations and Grassy Narrows First Nation whose health may have been affected by mercury poisioning in the English and Wabigoon river systems may be entitled to an award from the Mercury Disability Fund. Grassy Narrows First Nation, or the Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation, is a small First Nations community in northwestern Ontario. This past spring Pollution Probe hosted an event in Toronto, which provided hospitals in Ontario with information on mercury pollution prevention. Today, this company is the giant publisher Reed Elsevier. Canada’s Supreme Court sided with Ontario Friday on who bears responsibility for remediating a mercury waste disposal site on Ontario’s Wabigoon and English rivers. Mercury levels in Grassy Narrows fish have yet to return to safe levels. We live downstream from that mill and we need answers about the mercury that is still there. Javascript is required to submit this form. The case revolves around the scope of an indemnity granted by Ontario to the mill’s owners in 1985 after the Grassy Narrows litigation. The paper and pulp industry in Dryden, Ontario, which began in the early 1900s, resulted in a significant environmental issues through the dumping of mercury by a paper mill into local waters. Fifty years ago last month, in March 1962, Dryden Chemicals began dumping an estimated 10 metric tonnes of mercury into the Wabigoon River, contaminating the fish which formed the subsistence and economy of three Indigenous communities Asubpeeschoseewagong (Grassy Narrows), Wabaseemoong (White Dog), and some members of Wabauskang who lived at Quibell. Half a century later residents of Grassy Narrows are still grappling with the long term health, social, and economic impacts. Mercury levels in Grassy Narrows fish have yet to return to safe levels. Enhancing existing activities, developing new ones, and building greater participation by Canadians. Part of the First Nations’ MOA settlement ($2 million) was placed in a trust fund (which the Province of Ontario is responsible for replenishing when the balance drops below $100,000). But Weyerhaeuser and Resolute argued the Ontario government’s remediation order should have been covered by the indemnity. …6], “In 1985, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed committing government and two companies (Reed Limited, and Great Lakes Forest Products Ltd.) to a one-time compensation payment. A new study published in the Journal of Ornithology by researchers at Great Hollow and the University of Western Ontario … It produced sodium hydroxide and chlorine that were used in large amounts for bleaching paper during production by the nearby Dryden Pulp and Paper Company. of the chief, Simon Fobister, concerning a case of immense mercury pollution on the reserve. 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