https://kenoraonline.com/local/fight-over-mercury-clinic-renewed

Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle is calling upon the prime minister to fulfill a campaign promise and fund a clinic in the community for those suffering from mercury poisoning. Turtle was joined by Elder Bill Fobister and the sons of the late Simon Fobister yesterday in Toronto, as they urged Justin Trudeau and his new government to fund the project and get started on construction.

“Three of the major national parties committed during the election to build the Mercury Home (Liberal, NDP, Green), however, the Liberals have so far only offered half the construction cost, and a quarter of the operating cost budgeted by the feasibility study, which the federal government funded,” it said in a media release.

“The NDP and Greens committed to the full $89 Million which the facility will cost to build and operated for 30 years, and now stand to form the balance of power,” the release continued.

Indigenous Services Minister Seamus O’Regan visited the community at the end of May, expecting an agreement to be signed. However, it all fell apart, and it became an issue during the federal election.

Rather than seeing construction move ahead, the First Nation chief was chosen to be a star candidate for the NDP and their leader Jagmeet Singh, who showed off his new nominee on Parliament Hill and highlighted the issue in the leaders’ debate.

As all the dust settles after the election, the issue is coming back onto the agenda for the Liberal government, who are now in a minority position and in need of NDP support.  

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to meeting the specific health needs of Grassy Narrows. I’ve visited the community and respect and share in their desire to see better health services,” the minister said in his statement.

“The community asked for a mercury treatment facility and we’ve committed to building one. They also asked for upgrades to the existing nursing station and we’ve made significant progress on this to ensure there is access to enhanced care in this community,” he continued.

In a press conference during the day, community members said they had a design ready to go, and they didn’t understand why there was a delay, since money wasn’t supposed to be an issue.

The minister went further in his statement to explain his position.

“While work on the nursing station upgrades have progressed well, conversations between our technical teams continue to determine the form and function of the mercury treatment centre so that a detailed design could move forward to construction this fall. To be clear, funding is not an obstacle in these discussions. Funding will reflect the agreed upon final design that best meets the needs of community members,” he added.