HAS ONTARIO ABANDONED ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUPS ?

The Council of Canadians have sent out e-mail Notices advising that the Ontario government had turned down recommendations to clean up the mercury in the English-Wabigoon River System back in 1984. The recommendations came from both a scientific Steering Committee as well as from the then Minister of the Environment. Dr. John Rudd a key research scientist on the Steering Committee stated that "In 1984 my colleagues and I reported to the government that Grassy Narrows' fish would remain contaminated for generations if the river was not cleaned up. Our recommendations to clean the river were not followed and our troubling prediction has proven correct.".

The proposed remediation was tested and it was determined that it would reduce mercury levels in fish by tenfold. Despite this a remediation of the river system has not occurred and nearby residents are sufferring health effects due to mercury poisoning. Canada and Ontario are continuing their historical abuse of native peoples and all the apologies in the world can not undo the damage still being done to them.

Our fish in the Canagagigue Creek currently carry Dioxins, DDT, P.C.B.s and mercury in their flesh. It would appear that Ontario and their pathetic Ministry of the Environment value our downstream Old Order Mennonite population almost as much as they value native Canadians.