A First Nation in northern Ontario is suing the Ontario and Canadian governments over ongoing mercury contamination of river systems flowing through their territories.
Grassy Narrows First Nation alleges the government breached its obligations by failing to ensure the community can safely exercise its fishing rights.
The lawsuit alleges that the government first allowed the English-Wabigoon river system to become polluted and then failed to remediate it, while also approving industrial activities that exacerbated the pollution.
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The legal action comes weeks after a study showed that emissions from a paper mill upstream from the community exacerbated decades-old mercury pollution.
The researchers said that while the plant's wastewater does not contain mercury, the combination of sulfate and organic matter in it leads to the production of methylmercury, the most toxic pollutant.
Grassy Narrows First Nation has been plagued by mercury poisoning since the 1960s, when the factory released 9,000 kilograms of mercury into the river system.
The plant stopped using mercury in its industrial processes in the 1970s, but mercury levels downstream of the plant have not decreased significantly since the 1980s.
Grassy Narrows said it served the government with a statement of claim today.
When the study was released last month, a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks said the government would continue to work with the plant owners and Indigenous communities in the area affected by mercury contamination.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
