MPP Mamakwa joins calls to justice for youth impacted by mercury in Grassy Narrows

QUEEN’S PARK – A new study today confirms what people in Grassy Narrows have known for years – three generations of mercury exposure is having a profound impact on the children and youth, with direct links to mental health struggles and suicide attempts. Ontario NDP Deputy Leader and Critic for Indigenous and Treaty Relations, Sol Mamakwa, offered the follow statement:

“Our hearts and our Nations are hurting at this news. It is difficult to put into words the devastation that this mercury exposure has caused for generations of people in Grassy Narrows.

Today’s youth never had a chance to avoid this. The mercury in their bloodstream has been passed along from generation to generation, like so many colonial injustices.

In the face of this injustice, the youth of Grassy Narrows have persevered and excelled. As songwriters, playwrights, artists, nurses, teachers, and as land defenders, they have walked a path of resilience and strength. We can support them, so they don’t have to walk this path alone.

Grassy Narrows is demanding fair compensation for all community members impacted by the lasting damage of this mercury poison. They are also demanding respect for Grassy Narrows’ Indigenous Protected Area - a place where healing can be ongoing. I wholeheartedly echo these calls.

The people of Grassy Narrows deserve respect and meaningful support. They deserve access to mental and physical health care. They are owed that by the federal and provincial governments who have failed them time and time again. I call on these governments to respond to these findings with specific actions and resources that have been called for by the community for years."

Background:

• Youth suicide attempts in Grassy Narrows are three times higher than other First Nations in Canada today. Prior to 1970, no suicide had ever been recorded in Grassy Narrows.
• During the 1960s and 1970s, the chemical plant at Reed Paper mill, upstream from Grassy Narrows, dumped 9,000 kgs of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River.
• 90 per cent of the population in Grassy Narrows now experiences symptoms of mercury poisoning
• Health services in Grassy Narrows are limited to a small nursing station. Mental health care is nearly non-existent.
• Once ingested, mercury poisoning never goes away – it passes from one generation to the next.

Download the article:https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11301