Report on poisoning kept hidden, claims First Nations group
Grassy Narrows community near Kenora affected by toxic dumping for decades
The people living in a northern Ontario community near where a toxic dump of 10 tonnes of mercury occurred five decades ago are still suffering the neurological effects of mercury poisoning, and a report about the effects of the poisoning was never made public, First Nations leaders say.
For years, the residents of Grassy Narrows First Nation, a community of 1,500 outside Kenora, have complained about symptoms consistent with mercury poisoning after a paper mill dumped the mercury into the Wabigoon-English River system between 1962 and 1970.
A2010 report, titled “Literature Review: The Impact of Mercury Poisoning on Human Health,” was commissioned by the Mercury Disability Board, yet kept hidden from those involved, claims Roger Fobister Sr., chief of Grassy Narrows First Nation.
The disability board was created in the 1980s after Wabaseemoong Independent Nations and Grassy Narrows negotiated an out-of-court settlement with Ottawa, Ontario and two paper companies for all claims due to mercury contamination. Representatives from Ottawa, Ontario and Wabaseemoong and Grassy Narrows sit on the board, but Fobister said First Nations representatives knew nothing about the report.
The board could not be reached for comment.
“There is no doubt that there was high mercury exposure in these two communities in the late ’60s and early ’70s,” the report said.
“There is no doubt that at these levels of exposure, many persons were suffering from mercury-related neurologic disorders. Following the results of exposure and effects in 1975, as well as earlier mercury in blood monitoring studies conducted by Health Canada since 1970, there should have been extensive examinations and followup of these communities from that time forward, and assistance with respect to health and nutrition,” the report said.
But for years, both the province and the federal government have denied people have been poisoned by substantial levels of mercury, Fobister said.
“How are we supposed to know about this report if the government keeps it to themselves? We are reacting to the same amazement as anyone else would,” he said.
Scott Cavan, a spokesman for Ontario’s Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, said that to the best of the province’s knowledge, the report was not publicly released. However, the ministry said that the disability board did hold an open house meeting with Grassy Narrows where the report was discussed with those in attendance.
“The report was shared with the entire board, which includes First Nation representation,” Cavan said via email.
Queen’s Park has established “a cross-ministry team” to address mercury-related concerns in the community through health promotion, fish monitoring and economic development initiatives.
It has developed a working group with Grassy Narrows to address the community’s issues, Cavan added. That group consists of members from Grassy Narrows, along with several provincial ministries. It is also trying to enhance community participation in a drinking water surveillance program and a fish monitoring program.
The government has acknowledged long-standing mercury poisoning by signing the 1985 settlement agreement with Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong to deal with the consequences of mercury contamination in the English and Wabigoon river system, Cavan said. As for the people who live in the area, he said, “symptoms consistent with mercury poisoning are still evident.” Grassy Narrows residents continue to fish and hunt in the area as it is the traditional way of life. “They bring home fish to eat. Based on today’s food and gas prices, and the fact there is 80-per-cent unemployment, people will eat the fish and go to the bush and shoot moose to supplement the table,” Fobister said from Kenora. “That is our lifestyle and our cultural foods. We aren’t in a position to stop the people. Parents will fish to feed their children.” The report highlighted the “urgent need” to improve the general health of those from the two communities. The only reason this report would not be better publicized and shared with the people involved is because its conclusions support what Grassy Narrows has said for years — that the government has been negligent in caring for mercury poisoning survivors, said David Sone, a member of Earthroots, a non-profit organization devoted to protecting Ontario’s forests. The group publicly supports Grassy Narrows. “Grassy Narrows also has a representative on the committee, but whether or not they have seen (the report), I don’t know,” said Sone. “Grassy Narrows have been making these claims over and over, but the government has been denying what is in the report. It is the government that has the experts to read a 100page technical report. It is possible they (Grassy Narrows) have it, but could not make heads or tails of it.” Earlier this month, Grassy Narrows lost a lengthy court challenge over logging on their traditional lands. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled the province has the right to issue licences on the land for industrial logging. But if clear-cutting is allowed, more mercury will be released into the food chain, Sone said. “When the forest is clear cut, mercury leaches out of the soil and runs off into local lakes and rivers, and once there it gets magnified as it moves up the food chain. So the fish that Grassy Narrows eat can have mercury levels one million times (greater) than the water they swim in,” he said.
What has happened in Grassy Narrows has attracted international attention.
In 2010, the Star reported a newly translated study by Japanese scientist Dr. Masazumi Harada that indicated 79 per cent of 187 people in the area tested in 2002 and 2004 had or may have had Minimata disease, a condition arising from exposure to methylmercury.
Symptoms of mercury poisoning include tremors, tunnel vision, hearing and speech loss and a loss of muscular co-ordination and sensation in the arms and legs.