The Ontario legislature was surrounded by posters reminding government officials about the dire situation in Grassy Narrows First Nation.
As Legislature returned to session this week, grassroots supporters of Grassy Narrows and its call for justice regarding environmental pollution installed posters around Queen’s Park in Toronto.
Those posters featured images of children pleading with the Ford government for compensation.
“Every time the government sits in that building, we are reminded that Doug Ford is still ignoring our people’s demands for justice,” said Grassy Narrows community member Chrissy Isaacs in a release. “These posters are here so they can’t look away anymore.”
Last year, it was reported that mercury in Grassy Narrows’ river system continued to impact the community due to an ongoing discharge of effluent from the Dryden Mill.
According to the Grassy Narrows First Nation, industrial mercury pollution that ran from the mill contaminated the English-Wabigoon River during the 1960s, devastating Grassy Narrows’ health, economy and “made fish toxic, cutting off a key food source and livelihood.”
The community says although the health impacts have been long-term, proper clean-up and supports by the province have been delayed for decades.
Supporters continue to call for a stop to the mill’s effluent as well as compensation for the harm done to the community members living in Grassy Narrows First Nation.
