Thousands of protesters march with Grassy Narrows First Nation over ongoing mercury poisoning crisis.

Toronto Star, September 18, 2024

By Morgan Sevareid-Bocknek, Investigative Reporter

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Thousands of people marched through the city core to Queen’s Park on Wednesday to demand justice for the ongoing mercury poisoning crisis plaguing Grassy Narrows First Nation.

The seventh Grassy Narrows River Run rally was organized by the First Nation and supported by more than 100 non profits, unions and human rights groups. The demands of the rally were for provincial and federal governments to compensate Grassy Narrows for the ongoing mercury pollution in the Wabigoon River system, end industry development on Grassy Narrows’ territories and support the restoration of their traditional way of life.

“We’re not going away,” said Grassy Narrows First Nation Chief Rudy Turtle at Grange Park, just before the noon march began. “As long as the sun shines, as long as the grass grows, as long as the river flows, we will remain in Grassy Narrows First Nation,” he said.

The initial poisoning of the Grassy Narrows people occurred when mercury was dumped in the river by a paper mill in the 1960s. The effects of such a disaster continue to be felt by residents for generations, said journalist, author and activist Desmond Cole to the crowd of approximately 8,000 people.

“Here we are … still demanding that mercury be cleaned up, still demanding compensation. We should not be in this situation today.” “The wills and the desires of industry always seem to come before the needs and the health and safety of people,” said Cole.

The march started at Grange Park, then headed east across Dundas Street, turning north on Bay Street then turning west on College Street and onwards west to Queen’s Park. People of all ages — including babies in strollers, entire elementary and high school classes, as well as dozens of members of the Seniors for Climate Action Now (SCAN) group, marched in the downtown streets on a warm, sunny late September afternoon.

Maureen Fitzgerald, a member of SCAN, said the action group has supported Grassy Narrows for decades, but this year’s river run rally was important because of the May 2024 study that found current sulphate emissions from the paper mill near the First Nation are exacerbating the impact of the legacy mercury in the river system. Additionally, industrial production and prospecting on Grassy Narrows land have been allowed by the province, against the First Nation’s wishes. “All that is a plague on all our houses,” she said.

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.

Many protesters carried signs with slogans including “#FreeGrassy” and “Mercury Justice Now.” Flags from CUPE and OPSEU were visible in the crowds of people.

Once at the legislature, demonstrators unfurled a 1,600-square-foot banner that read “Justice for Grassy Narrows” before speeches continued. Remarks at Queen’s Park were delivered by Turtle as well as Grassy Narrows youth and elders.

The River Run Rally, first held in 2010, is a recurring event that demonstrates the continued colonial oppression of Grassy Narrows by the government, said provincial NDP Deputy Leader Sol Mamakwa. “The people here from Grassy, they’re the ones that pay in full with their health. They’re the ones that pay in full with their lives, as they’re dying early,” he said. “It’s kind of sad that we have to be here still,” said CUPE president Fred Hahn. “Successive governments have known about this problem. They’ve known what the solutions can be. We just need someone to act.”

In June, Grassy Narrows First Nation sued 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. Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford said in June that the Ford government indexed mercury poisoning disability benefits to inflation upon taking office in 2018. “As a result, most beneficiaries saw their monthly payments nearly double,” Rickford said, noting the fund would have another actuarial assessment that month.

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. Statements of defence have not been filed by either government.

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Photo credit: Eye in the Sky Photography