'Do the right thing': Grassy Narrows First Nation demands action on mercury pollution ahead of Ontario vote

Judy DaSilva says she can feel herself deteriorating.

The elder, grandmother and environmental health co-ordinator for Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek, known as Grassy Narrows First Nation, says she has been impacted by mercury poisoning for years.

The contamination in her community dates back to the 1960s and '70s, when the Dryden Paper Mill dumped about nine tonnes of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River System.

DaSilva was among dozens of people outside Queen's Park on Tuesday to hold a vigil for the people they say have died prematurely or been harmed by mercury contamination.

They want the provincial government to stop the mill from "dumping toxins in the water," end all industrial threats of pollution and to compensate affected community members.

Organizers invited Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford to the vigil, but he was in Ottawa campaigning for Thursday's provincial election.

"This is the fourth time Grassy Narrows community members have made the trip to Toronto to try and meet with Doug Ford in the last year, and this is the fourth time he has refused to meet with them," Grassy Narrows said in a news release Tuesday.

CBC News has reached out to Ford for comment but had not received a response by publication time.

"Why is [Ford] ignoring us? Why is he ignoring the community of Grassy Narrows?" DaSilva asked.

For me, this is really, really hard to keep coming back here and to call on Doug Ford to do the right thing for my community.- Judy DaSilva, environmental health co-ordinator, Grassy Narrows First Nation

An estimated 90 per cent of Grassy Narrows's population has symptoms of mercury poisoning, which can cause issues including tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches, and cognitive and motor dysfunction.

While fish are a staple part of the community's diet, they're also one of the main ways the mercury contamination has been transmitted.

A study released in the spring by London's University of Western Ontario suggests the contamination is being worsened by ongoing industrial pollution. Since then, Grassy Narrows First Nation has ramped up lobbying efforts: 

• June 2024: Filed a lawsuit against the provincial and federal governments, alleging they have failed to protect the community's treaty rights.
• July 2024: Appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights over the impact of ongoing mercury contamination.
• September 2024: Thousands of people participated in a mercury justice rally at Queen's Park.  

"For me, this is really, really hard to keep coming back here and to call on Doug Ford to do the right thing for my community," said DaSilva.

'This is what colonialism looks like': U of T professor

Fewer than 1,000 people live in Grassy Narrows First Nation, located about 150 kilometres from Dryden near the Ontario-Manitoba border.

In 2017, the Ontario government committed $85 million to fund mercury cleanup and remediation efforts in the English-Wabigoon River system.

The same year, the federal government promised to build a Mercury Care Home in Grassy Narrows. According to DaSilva, construction is expected to start in March. The work was previously anticipated to begin last summer and take two to three years to complete.

Grassy Narrows Chief Sherry Ackabee told vigil participants she is not impressed with how long it's taking both governments to act.

"I myself have a child who was born sick; my sister's as well," Ackabee said. "It's pretty sad that the Dryden mill's still open and they're still dumping whatever."

CBC News reached out to the owner of the mill, Dryden Fibre Canada, for comment but had not received a response by publication time.

Jeffrey Ansloos is a University of Toronto associate professor of Indigenous health and social policy and a member of Fisher River Cree Nation.

His research has found a direct link between water and security, and suicide, in First Nations across Ontario, he told those attending Tuesday's vigil. 

"What does it do to a person to be told over and over again, 'Don't drink this, but we're not gonna do anything about the conditions?' What does it do to a community when the fish relatives they've relied on for generations for food, for survival, are toxic?" he asked.

"What does it do to a child to grow up, knowing that the Ford government sees them as disposable? It's not just physical suffering — which it is — it's also psychological, economic, social, cultural and spiritual harm. This is what colonialism looks like."

Despite the toll it's taken on her mental and physical well-being, DaSilva said she keeps coming out to rallies and other events in hopes of protecting the next generation.

"I count on them to carry on this fight," she said. "If it's gonna take another 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, we're gonna keep coming back — and with each government that comes, you'll be sure that we're gonna be here until justice is done."