Decades of Inaction: Canadian First Nation Sues Over Mercury Contamination

Indigenous people of North America have depended on nature for sustenance for centuries. Access to pristine bodies of water for fishing is essential to their way of life. Recently, a First Nation group in Ontario, Canada, filed a lawsuit against the provincial and federal governments due to decades of inaction in addressing mercury poisoning, which is exacerbated by ongoing industrial pollution. The article, “Grassy Narrows First Nation files lawsuit against Ontario, federal governments over mercury contamination (Law, 2024)”, details the history of methylmercury contamination in the English-Wabigoon River system affecting the Grassy Narrows First Nation since the 1960s. Although the Grassy Narrows First Nation is a small community of 1,000 people, around 90% have suffered adverse health effects from mercury poisoning. To compound issues, recent reports have cited ongoing issues with industrial pollution due to a nearby paper plant. The Ontario government had agreed to clean up the river and as committed funding towards the efforts, but no real progress has been made, which is why the Grassy Narrows First Nation has filed the lawsuit. The Ontario government had agreed to clean up the river and committed funding towards these efforts over seven years ago, but no real progress has been made. This lack of action has prompted the Grassy Narrows First Nation to file the lawsuit. They see the persistent pollution on their lands and the government's failure to address it as a violation of their treaty rights and human rights.

Reference

Law, S. (2024, June 4). Grassy Narrows First Nation files lawsuit against Ontario, federal governments over mercury contamination. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/grassy-narrows-first-nation-lawsuit-1.7223442