TORONTO – The poisoning of Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation was hotly debated in Queen’s Park on Tuesday between New Democratic Leader Marit Stiles and Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

During Question Period, Stiles asked the Ford government if it is planning on taking any action to stop “the ongoing poisoning of the people of Grassy Narrows.”

Although the Dryden Mill stopped pouring mercury into the English-Wabigoon River system decades ago, a recent study has found that highly toxic methylmercury remains.

The mercury contamination has spread deep into the natural environment infecting the fish population.

Many people are still being diagnosed with Minamata disease, a neurological disorder with symptoms including numbness in hands and feet, muscle weakness, damage to hearing and problems in muscle control, due to this ongoing contamination.

Rickford said in 2018, one of the Conservative government’s’ first actions was to increase the Mercury Disability Fund to meet inflation, something previous governments haven’t done since the fund’s inception.

“The Mercury Disabilities Fund Investment Fund was then replenished with over $127 million based on a tri-annual assessment that we received in June 2021,” Rickford said. 

“These funds will ensure that the Mercury Disability Fund is resourced to provide benefits to beneficiaries for many years to come. The next actuarial assessment is expected in June 2024.”

He also said Kenora opened a clinical space in 2022 where people could seek help for their illness.

In a supplemental question, Stiles suggested Rickford did not hear her question. Specifically, she wanted to know what the Ford government was doing to prevent further poisoning to the community.

“It is the responsibility of a government, surely, to ensure that the people are not being actively poisoned by the fish they eat or the water they drink, right?” she said.

“The lawsuit that we’re talking about doesn’t prevent anyone on the other side, the premier or his cabinet, from taking decisive action to stop the ongoing contamination of the river today, tomorrow and every day after that.

“They are the government, they have the power to do the right thing, right now. How can they knowingly allow this terrible poisoning to continue on their watch?” she asked.

The lawsuit she mentioned was announced by Grassy Narrows First Nation in a news conference in front of the Superior Court of Justice building in Toronto on Tuesday morning.

Rickford reiterated his previous statement that the Conservative government is compensating those affected by mercury poisoning. However, he mentioned that the provincial government holds resource development corporations “to the highest environmental protection standards out there.”