“It is time for some justice!” Clayton Thomas-Müller, prominent Cree activist and writer, called out to members of Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong (White Dog) First Nations protesting outside the Dryden Mill on 21 May. The Dryden Mill has been a site of trauma and oppression for these Anishinaabe communities for decades. In the 1960s and 70s the pulp and paper mill dumped over 9 tonnes of mercury into the river upstream of both communities. As a result, over 90% of the people in Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong live with the impacts of mercury poisoning.
The stories of these two communities are stories of environmental racism. When mercury poisoning first hit the headlines, governments denied that these communities were impacted, claiming their health concerns were due to life-style choices and not mercury poisoning. For decades the people of Grassy Narrows advocated for support, and governments claimed that cleaning the river system was impossible and ignored evidence that mercury levels were not decreasing at the expected rate. It wasn’t until 2017, after decades of relentless campaigning by members of Grassy Narrows, that both the federal and the Ontario governments acknowledged the ongoing poisoning and promised to support a clean up and compensation.
While promises and financial commitments were made, a clean up has not yet begun. And though the mill is not dumping mercury into the river, a study has found that the mill is once again dumping toxins into the river resulting in the poisoning of Indigenous communities.
Members of Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong are demanding the Ford government shut down the mill. Yet, despite an $85 million commitment to clean up the river from federal and provincial governments, the federal government has been financially supporting the mill that pollutes it through grants.
“Environmental racism” describes how hazardous industrial projects are strategically located in areas where state-targeted local populations – often Black and Indigenous communities – are presumed to lack the political power to stop them. The continued operation of the mill exposes government agendas of building economic stability and expansion at the expense of Indigenous lives.
CPT stood together with the community on the day of action on 21 May. Read our full reflection on the day to learn more about the communities’ decades-long fight against the poisoning of their land and people. See how you can amplify their demand to Shut Down the Dryden Mill!
