A Community's Common Future – Grassy Narrows

Gray Merriam | Oct 04, 2017

During the economic boom times of the 1960's and 70's our "resource-based economy" put a pulp mill at full capacity in Dryden in Northwest Ontario. Income from forest harvest was welcome. So were day-jobs in the woods and in the pulp mill. Dryden welcomed them and so did Queens Park. The interactions of the economy, the social structure and the environment were not realized. There were no safeguards.

For almost ten years, the pulp mill processed the fibre from our provincial resource base. In the 1960's mercury was used as a fungicide in pulp processing. To any costs of treating their wastes and thus increase their profits, the mill dumped about 9 tonnes of mercury into the English and Wabigoon River system. Now pulp processing has largely eliminated use of mercury but the mercury used back then entered the English and Wabigoon Rivers, pooled in deep spots and was methylated by exposure to natural organic compounds. Methylated mercury can be taken up by living systems.

Not until 2017 was a firm promise made to clean up that mercury from the river system. Premier Wynne has now promised $85 million for a clean up program. Those who profited from processing the pulp from our provincial resource base are long gone. Now, taxpayers, the owners of that provincial resource base are going to pay a supplement to those profit-makers. We are going to pay a cost that should have been a cost of their business operation.

Our costs are minor compared to the costs to the economy, the social structure and the health of the Grassy Narrows people. The methylated mercury that got into the fish then passed into the people eating the fish and if that person was pregnant, passed through the placenta into the unborn child. Ontario denied any compensation. People were diagnosed with mercury poisoning. It affects the nervous system. Fingers become unable to do many things. But mercury poisoning also affects other parts of the nervous system and the effects on behaviour wreak havoc on the social structure. The fishery was closed in1970 ending the local fishing economy and the flow of mercury into the people.