'There is no trust': Indigenous leaders tell Feds to take action on contamination
Northern Indigenous leaders are demanding action from the federal government after Transport Canada failed to inform them about water and soil contamination at a community dock in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta.
"These things have to be fixed. If not, we will continue to embarrass you all," Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief Allan Adam told the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities on Tuesday.
Adam, Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation (FCMN) President Kendrick Cardinal and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) councillor Tammie Tuccaro travelled from their remote community to Ottawa — roughly 4,000 kilometres — to tell MPs their concerns.
Adam explained that the community's efforts earlier this year to get the Transport Canada dock ready for potential wildfire evacuations eventually revealed the wharf, water and soil are contaminated with cancer-causing compounds.
Referred to as "The Big Dock" by local people, it is the only one that can accommodate barges and provides an essential escape route for people and supplies in an emergency. In the summer, the only way into Fort Chipewyan is by boat or plane.
When ACFN, MCFN and FCMN first went public with their concerns in early October, the federal government repeatedly said the contaminated zone is unlikely to pose any risks to human health. https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/a-cover-up-fort-chipewyan-releases-report-showing-cancer-causing-substances-found-at-dock-1.7059815
But environmental toxicologist Mandy Olsgard, who testified on Tuesday via Zoom, said that assertion is based on a federal risk assessment that failed to consider how Indigenous people use the dock, water and land, including ingesting fish and plants from the area.
The federal assessment was "essentially useless" to address concerns about human health, she said.
"This is a northern community with a 91 per cent Indigenous population with a well-documented reliance on the land and water for traditional diets," Olsgard said at the committee meeting.
The study of environmental contamination at the Transport Canada dock in Fort Chipewyan was initiated by NDP Transport critic Taylor Bachrach and NDP Environment critic Laurel Collins. Transport Minister Anita Anand is set to testify on Dec. 5.
Cardinal and Adam emphasized community members' reliance on wild food diets.
"Unfortunately, due to the deficiencies and errors of the health risk assessment contracted by the federal government … the potential risk to community member health is still unknown," said Olsgard, who was hired by the three nations to review the 2017 risk assessment commissioned by Transport Canada.
Health Canada guidance specifically states that you have to engage Indigenous communities because their land use and way of life could expose them to higher concentrations of contamination, Olsgard pointed out.
If the risk assessor (Millenium EMS Solutions) "had talked to anyone in this room or engaged anyone, it would have looked fundamentally different," she said.
The three nations want to be compensated for the money spent hiring consultants to investigate the dock, conduct their own contamination studies and parse through hundreds of pages of technical reports.
"We're spending money out of pocket, and we should be reimbursed immediately," Adam said, adding it was the government's job to do a proper risk assessment and create a plan to remediate and fix Big Dock.
Mikisew Cree First Nation also wants funding for mental health support to help address community members' anxieties and fears that arose because of the contamination, Tuccaro told MPs.
"There is a lot of concern from everybody, even people that don't use the lake," Tuccaro said. "That's the only place that we have a beach and a family park and stuff like that to be utilized … and it is located right adjacent to the wharf."
Adam, Tuccaro and Cardinal all spoke about the negative impact incidents like this have on both physical and mental health.
In spring 2023, the nations learned toxic tailings were seeping from Imperial Oil's Kearl oilsands facility for nine months. They were not notified until 5.3 million litres of wastewater escaped from a drainage pond in a separate incident.
- Imperial, Alberta regulator knew for years about tailings seepage at mine: document
- Kearl oilsands leak exposes gaps in how Alberta and Canada oversee industry: experts
- First Nations blast Alberta Energy Regulator at hearing; Guibeault promises reform
"It's difficult to put into words the kind of stress that comes from living in this constant fear," Cardinal said. "We are constantly asking ourselves questions: Is it safe to fish here? Is it safe to swim here? Can we drink the water? We should never have to live with this level of uncertainty."
Adam explained, "there is no trust" between the community and Transport Canada.
Tuccaro added that Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro could not travel to Ottawa because his mother was recently diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and he is staying with her for the final days of her life.
The three nations want to be in the driver's seat when it comes to remediation, and not rely on Transport Canada, she said.
On the morning of the committee meeting, ACFN received an email from Anand saying the department had already hired a consultant to work with the nations to review and update the environmental studies, and determine a path forward for remediation or risk management of the contamination.
Olsgard said she was "a bit taken aback" by the department's decision to hire a consultant since the reason for the ongoing study is that nations were previously left out of decisions and assessments for the dock.
Among the many recommendations put forward by witnesses, Cardinal suggested $25 million be allocated for remediation of the Big Dock and a funding agreement for 50 years, so the three nations can maintain the dock.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Details, new photos emerge about suspect charged with murder in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO likely was motivated by his anger with what he called 'parasitic' health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed, a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said.
Canada announces new sanctions against Chinese, Russian officials
Past and present senior Chinese officials, as well as Russian officials and collaborators, are the subjects of new human rights sanctions, the Canadian government said Tuesday.
Some added sugar sources are worse than others for disease risk, study suggests
Sugar isn’t helpful when looking to reduce heart disease risk –– but sweet drinks are the worst, according to a study. There are better sweet treats.
Recall issued for pistachio chocolate bar sold across Canada due to 'possible salmonella'
Chocolate lovers are being advised to check their cupboards following a recall of a pistachio-flavoured chocolate bar that was sold in Ontario and across Canada due to a salmonella risk.
'Governor Justin Trudeau': Trump appears to mock PM in social media post
Amid a looming tariff threat, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump appears to be mocking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to him as 'Governor Justin Trudeau' in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday.
'I never got the impression he would self-destruct:' Friends of suspect in fatal CEO shooting left in shock
Months before police identified Luigi Mangione as the man they suspect gunned down a top health insurance CEO and then seemingly vanished from Midtown Manhattan, another disappearing act worried his friends and family.
Google pulls McDonald's negative reviews over arrest in UnitedHealth murder
Google on Monday removed derogatory reviews about McDonald's MCD.N after the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson was arrested at its restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police say a customer alerted a local employee about him.
Canadian man sentenced to prison for embezzling US$1.4M
U.S. authorities have sentenced a Canadian man to 20 months in prison for a US$1.4-million embezzlement scheme.
Freeland doesn't commit to meeting her own deficit target in fall economic statement
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has not committed to meeting the $40.1-billion deficit target she set for the government last year, as the Liberal government appears to unshackle itself from constraints on spending ahead of a federal election.