Commons committee plans to examine contamination at Fort Chipewyan, Alta., dock

A House of Commons committee will study the issue of contaminated soil at a federal dock in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., after Indigenous community leaders said the government kept them in the dark about it.

Earlier this month, leaders of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation released a joint statement accusing the federal government of hiding a 2017 Transport Canada report that outlined the contaminants found in the soil near the dock on Lake Athabasca. 

On Monday in Ottawa at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, NDP MP Laurel Collins introduced a motion for the committee to hold meetings in November on this issue. 

"Hearing those calls to action from the nations and from the community, I wanted to make sure that this is brought into the light, that we can hold the ministers responsible for their inaction," said Collins. 

"This is a violation of Indigenous treaty rights … the government's responsibility to protect human health, to protect communities." 

The motion outlines that if the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities opts not to study the issue, the environment committee will ask several ministers to speak to the issue, including those from Transport, Environment and Climate Change, Emergency Preparedness, Indigenous Services, and Crown-Indigenous Relations.  

"I'm satisfied with the NDP putting a motion forward that forces the Liberal government to address the issue that we're having with the big dock," said Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam. 

"They have to commence some kind of study … to fix the problem."

Adam would also be invited to speak in front of the committee, along with Mikisew Cree Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro and Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation President Kendrick Cardinal, on how the incident is affecting their communities. 

Contractor finds 2017 assessment 

Fort Chipewyan has no all-season road; the community depends on its airport and the dock for transportation. In recent years Lake Athabasca has had low water levels and community leaders had asked Transport Canada to dredge the area for safe use of the dock, to no result. 

So they decided to do it themselves. 

"Once we found a suitable contractor to get the job done, he started applying for the permits and … [an] environmental assessment," said Adam. 

"He found out that the environmental assessment was done in 2017 … That's how we found out about this whole mess."

That assessment, done by Millennium EMS Solutions, examined levels of hydrocarbons and heavy metals in the soil, sediment and groundwater in the dock area. That assessment concluded that wells within 60 metres of the dock would need further examination. 

In a previous statement to CBC News, Transport Canada said the 2017 assessment "investigated risks to human health and wildlife, and the study determined that the site was not likely to pose any risks to human health."

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation commissioned its own studies of the area, including one done by Stantec that found hydrocarbon and metal contamination in the sediment at the bottom of the dock, and metal contamination of the water. 

"Transport Canada doesn't know what to do because they didn't take any studies to remediate the problem, they thought it would … just go away without anything coming out of it," said Adam. 

"Now we're stuck and we've got to deal with it because we're not going to let this go away." 

For Collins, what has happened at Fort Chipewyan is an example of environmental racism. 

"You'd hope after voting in favour of the National Strategy on Environmental Racism … that they would take this issue seriously, but clearly they haven't because they have not taken action," said Collins. 

In July, a law was passed that requires the federal government to better track environmental racism, and aim to correct it. 

"I can't really describe the disbelief and disappointment that I feel when I see this kind of government inaction and lack of accountability," said Collins. 

Adams said his community wants to see the soil near the dock remediated, to ensure that there is no risk to people using the lake. 

"We've put out warnings in the community, don't go swimming down by the big dock, or at the beachfront or any other areas until we determine how to fix the problem," said Adam. 

"Transport Canada's got lots of money … so they could clean up this mess. They created it … now help solve it."

In an emailed statement, the office of Transport Minister Anita Anand said she has not yet received an invitation to speak to the committee.

"Our government is working to ensure that operations at the port facility are carried out safely," the statement reads. 

"Remote and Indigenous communities must have access to the safe and reliable connectivity that they need."