“MERCURY, IT TURNS OUT, IS A PARTICULARLY NASTY CONTAMINANT. ITS EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, INCLUD- ING LIVING ORGANISMS, ARE DEVASTATING AND IRREVERSIBLE. WHEN IT ENTERS THE ENVI- RONMENT, MERCURY CHANGES INTO ITS MOST TOXIC FORM, METHYL- MERCURY, WORKING ITS WAY UP THE FOOD CHAIN FROM ORGANISM TO ORGANISM THROUGH CONSUMPTION.”


16 ETFO VOICE | SPRING 2020


show the location of landfills, waste dumps and hazardous industrial sites in relation to Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian commu- nities. The disparity was clear; these com- munities were highly over-represented in the data even when the researchers factored for population proportions. When I look at Canada’s history through


the lens of environmental racism, it be- comes apparent that Indigenous commu- nities aren’t the only ones affected; other groups of racialized people are also dispro- portionately affected. This understanding helps contextualize the environmental events plaguing Asabiinyashkosiwagong Nitam-Anishinaabeg (Grassy Narrows First Nation) and Wabaseemoong (White Dog) Independent Nations in northwestern On- tario, which started over 50 years ago at the pulp and paper mill in Dryden, Ontario. The mill lies approximately 150 km from the Manitoba border on the Trans-Canada Highway. Between 1962 and 1970 Dryden Chemicals and Reed Paper Limited dumped 9,000 kg of mercury into the English Riv- er, polluting the English-Wabigoon water system where these communities got their water and fished both for their families and


to make a living at commercial fishing. By 1970, the effects of mercury contamination ended commercial fishing and the effects of mercury poisoning (called Minamata dis- ease) were showing up in community mem- bers. Several generations of Anishinaabe people from these communities suffer from mercury poisoning, with estimates indicat- ing that 90 percent of residents are affected. Mercury, it turns out, is a particularly


nasty contaminant. Its effects on the envi- ronment, including living organisms, are devastating and irreversible. When it enters the environment, mercury changes into its most toxic form, methylmercury, working its way up the food chain from organism to organism through consumption. Mercury is not excreted; it accumulates in the human body affecting the brain, kidneys, lungs and skin. Symptoms of mercury poisoning in- clude red cheeks, fingers and toes; rapid heartbeat and high blood pressure; loss of hearing and vision; memory loss; speech problems; loss of teeth, hair, and nails; and birth defects. Mercury is passed to unborn children in utero. Despite years of requests, the communi- ties have found no help from either the com-


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52