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3 years after Canada & Ontario committed to clean up decades-old #mercury contamination causing illness in #GrassyNarrows, Indigenous residents are still waiting for mercury clean-up and fair compensation for harms: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/26/canada-ontario-need-address-toxic-legacy
Starting in the 1960s, a chemical plant dumped around 10 tons of toxic mercury into a river upstream from Grassy Narrows, contaminating culturally important fish the community depends on for food: https://www.tvo.org/article/why-the-people-of-grassy-narrows-are-still-eating-the-fish
Subsequent governments have repeatedly failed to clean up the river, contributing to generation after generation of Grassy Narrows people facing serious health impacts, including early death: https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanplh/PIIS2542-5196(20)30057-7.pdf
A 2016 @TorontoStar review of mercury levels in Ontario fish confirmed that fish consumed in Grassy Narrows are still the most mercury-contaminated in the province: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/11/23/grassy-narrows-residents-eating-fish-with-highest-mercury-levels-in-province.html
Yet the federal govt maintains that “Canada has well-established ... programs to identify, assess, remediate and risk manage contaminated sites,” in line with its obligations under the UN Minamata Convention on Mercury: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/08/16/groundbreaking-mercury-treaty-takes-effect
In a positive step, this year the federal govt committed funds to support construction of a mercury care home in the community: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/04/03/news/after-years-waiting-ottawa-agrees-fund-grassy-narrows-mercury-care-home
But more is needed, including fair compensation for all #GrassyNarrows people for harms suffered & urgent action to clean up the mercury so that future generations are not put at risk.
