Rod Phillips — the latest government minister to betray Grassy Narrows
How hard is it to dig a trench to see if barrels full of poisonous mercury and salt, believed to be buried near the river that flows to Grassy Narrows First Nation, are there?
Not that hard.
And yet Ontario Environment Minister Rod Phillips hasn’t even managed to come up with a plan to do that.
Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle says Phillips promised last October to produce dig plans within two weeks. Five months later no plans have appeared. Neither has an explanation of why that might be.
“It’s about time that they give us the answers,” Turtle says. “We want to know if there is a leak coming from that area.”
No kidding.
The last thing the Grassy Narrows and Whitedog First Nations need is another source of mercury adding to the 10 tonnes dumped into the river system between 1962 and 1970 by the old Dryden paper mill. Generations of residents have suffered the debilitating effects of mercury poisoning and the water system is still contaminated.
As environment minister, Phillips needs to know as soon as possible how bad this potential new source of contamination — which the province agreed to dig up a year ago — might be so he can take the necessary steps to clean it up.
As a high-profile member of Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet, Phillips might want to demonstrate that this government keeps its promises — and not just to the deep-pocketed few who can afford to attend the Progressive Conservative party’s $1,250-a-plate fundraiser.
And, on a simple human level, Phillips should use some common courtesy and tell the chief what’s going on.
This isn’t the first betrayal of this community by a provincial or federal government; those, sadly, go back decades. But it doesn’t make this latest one any better.