Feds, Grassy Narrows sign mercury care home deal

OTTAWA—The federal government has signed an agreement with Grassy Narrows First Nation that will see a long-promised treatment centre for residents with mercury poisoning finally built in the community.

Chief Rudy Turtle signed the framework agreement with Indigenous Services Canada on Thursday, which commits $19.5 million toward the construction of the mercury care home.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says the facility will provide access to health services to meet the needs of residents who are living with methylmercury poisoning.

In December, Turtle and National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations called on Ottawa to end delays in building the centre.

The Liberals promised a specialized treatment facility in 2017, but progress stalled due to a disagreement on the design.

In a Facebook post published Thursday, Turtle said the agreement is for a 24-bed facility that will allow the people of Grassy Narrows suffering from mercury poisoning to seek treatment in their home community. The contamination stems from when a paper mill in Dryden, Ont., dumped 9,000 kilograms of the substance into the English-Wabigoon River system in the 1960s.

An advocacy group called Free Grassy Narrows, which has been fighting for the mercury care home, called the new agreement an important step, but said the First Nation continues to seek long-term funding for the facility.