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The Conservative critic for Indigenous Services is adding his voice to calls for Prime Minister Mark Carney to apologize to Grassy Narrows First Nation after he said he could “outlast” a protester raising concerns about mercury poisoning in her community.
Conservative MP Billy Morin told The Canadian Press Carney “laughs at First Nations’ frustrations over the Liberals failing to keep their promises,” and that his remark was more arrogant than a similar quip former prime minister Justin Trudeau made to a Grassy Narrows demonstrator in 2019.
Chrissy Isaacs, a Grassy Narrows First Nation woman suffering from mercury poisoning, was in Toronto on Monday to demand compensation from the provincial government for mercury contamination in her community.
The Dryden Paper Mill released thousands of kilograms of mercury into Grassy Narrows’ river system from the 1960s to the 1970s. It’s widely considered to be one of the country’s worst environmental disasters and community members are still dealing with the fallout today.
Isaacs and a group of community members and their supporters attended a news conference Carney held on Monday with Ontario Premier Doug Ford to announce new funding for housing. She and the other protesters could be heard chanting and shouting in the background about the mercury contamination.
“I can outlast her,” Carney said, laughing briefly along with Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a media statement Wednesday Carney could not hear what the demonstrators were saying and that members of his staff spoke to the demonstrators to hear their concerns. It’s not clear if the prime minister knew why the protesters were there when he made the remarks.
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PMO spokesperson Audrey Champoux said Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is “in contact with Grassy Narrows leadership to continue progress on critical projects ranging from a new health centre, housing and a mercury care home that will help ensure those suffering from mercury poisoning have the care they need, close to home.”
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau made similar remarks after a protester who supported Grassy Narrows disrupted a 2019 Liberal party fundraiser.
When the woman interrupted the fundraiser to raise concerns about the “mercury crisis” and the suffering of community members, Trudeau thanked her for her “donation.”
He later apologized, saying he “lacked respect towards them.”
The chiefs of Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations say Carney should do the same.
“Shame on you, prime minister. You’re making a joke of my people,” Grassy Narrows Chief Sherry Ackabee told The Canadian Press Wednesday.
NDP MP Leah Gazan also called on Carney to apologize. In a media statement issued Wednesday, she said she was “disgusted” by Carney’s conduct.
“Is the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples not in the national interest? Is the voice of a woman living with mercury poisoning not worthy of respect? Is the protection of lands and waters not fundamental to who we are as a country?” she wrote.
“Grassy Narrows deserves justice. It deserves clean water. It deserves full accountability from governments that have failed for far too long to uphold their obligations.”
Grassy Narrows is located some 150 kilometres from Dryden, Ont., close to the Ontario-Manitoba border. Wabaseemoong Independent Nation is also nearby.
The Dryden Paper Mill dumped 9,000 kilograms of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River system. The mill stopped using mercury in its industrial process in the 1970s, but mercury levels downstream from the plant haven’t decreased significantly since the 1980s.
A 2024 study from Western University found emissions from the mill, including sulphate, continue to wreak havoc on the community by generating methylmercury.
The report found levels of methylmercury — the most toxic form of mercury — in the Wabigoon River’s fish may be twice as high as they would have been without the mill discharge.
One study estimated that 90 per cent of the Grassy Narrows population suffers from some degree of mercury poisoning. The heavy metal can be passed from mothers to babies they carry, making it a problem that spans generations.
Mercury poisoning can cause neurotoxicity and damage peoples’ nervous systems, causing premature deaths. Children and babies are most at risk.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said in a media statement Thursday Carney’s remarks “were shameful.”
“What continues to happen to the people of Grassy Narrows First Nations and Wabaseemoong Independent Nations is devastating, and to turn the decades of neglect and people’s lives into a punchline is shameful,” she wrote.
“The community and rights holders have been asking government after government to listen to their concerns and take this crisis seriously. I am urging both the Premier and Prime Minister to start taking their responsibility towards reconciliation seriously.”
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