Steve Fobister Sr. was once a sport fishing guide to the rich and famous.

But the Grassy Narrows First Nation elder has been stricken by mercury poisoning from the walleye he used to catch in the Wabigoon-English River system, which was contaminated by a nearby paper mill.

“The struggle goes on,” Fobister, 63, told a news conference Tuesday at Queen’s Park on the second day of a hunger strike to protest that mercury survivors receive inadequate health care and compensation.

Helped from his wheelchair by a friend and standing at the lectern with the aid of a cane, the one-time fishing guide said it is time for action.

“There are people that are in need right now — it’s not something that we are going to talk about forever,” said the former Treaty 3 grand chief, who is continuing his fast to bring attention to the issue.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Zimmer, who will travel to Grassy Narrows near Kenora on Aug. 6, met with Fobister for three hours Sunday to discuss the situation and stood with him Tuesday at the legislature.

“It moves the soul and it moves everyone to want to do something,” said Zimmer, imploring the federal government to do more to help.

“I will be on the phone with whoever I have to be on the phone with in Ottawa to get this moving,” he said, adding the Ontario government is considering a treatment centre in the remote community.

The mercury poisoning, which dates to 1962 after 10 tonnes of toxic waste was dumped in the water, has been in the headlines again amid accusations a 2010 report on the health crisis was kept hidden.

It had been commissioned by the Mercury Disability Board, created in 1985 after Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong Independent Nations reached an out-of-court settlement with Ottawa, Queen’s Park and two paper companies over mercury contamination claims.

But the study was apparently not formally released — even though representatives from the province, the federal government and First Nations sit on the board.

Nor were its findings well explained to Grassy Narrows residents, many of whom continue to suffer mercury-related health problems.

NDP MPP Sarah Campbell (Kenora-Rainy River) said Monday that “a coverup involving the poisoning of an entire community is not something you expect to hear about here in Ontario.”

However, board chair Margaret Wanlin said that same day there was no coverup and the former Grassy Narrows chief received a briefing on the report in Winnipeg on Jan. 27, 2010.

As well, a public meeting on the report was held in the community, though the study wasn’t posted online.

“We aren’t intentionally trying to hide it,” Wanlin said Monday.

Still, Zimmer said he wants to “to review the Mercury Disability Board and all of its operations and responsibilities.”

“The time has come to do a review … and what its mandate should be, how it does its work, how it should look into issues, what should be the parameters of its decisions,” he said.

“It’s those kinds of issues that have recently come to our attention. Things have changed in 29 years. There are different technologies and different ways of managing the effects of mercury.”