Indigenous leaders in northern Alberta report progress with contaminated dock site

Government funding has been secured for a temporary dock in a northern Alberta community that made headlines last year after Indigenous leaders raised concerns about contamination at a federally owned dock site.  

Last fall, three Indigenous groups accused the federal government of keeping them in the dark about chemical contamination at a Transport Canada-owned site, known locally as Big Dock, in Fort Chipewyan.

Now, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis say the federal government made progress on the issue of cleaning up the site and also providing the community with a method of evacuating by watercraft. 

"Since October, we managed to work alongside with Transport Canada and we secured funding to remediate the dock because of the contaminants that were there," Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam said in an interview with CBC News.

Adam said the dock is important to the local community as a means of evacuation during emergencies and also for swimming, fishing, hunting and harvesting. 

The community became aware that the facility had been contaminated with various compounds, including hydrocarbons and various metals, after learning about a 2017 report that outlined the contaminants found in the soil near the dock on Lake Athabasca. 

If everything goes according to plan, according to the update published on Mikisew Cree First Nation's Facebook page, the cleanup of the site could happen in summer 2026.

Adam said the site could potentially be remediated in a way to make sure that the sediment is not disturbed, and the dock relocated. 

"It's contained in that way," Adam said. 

"But it's unfortunate it had to happen," he added. 

Temporary dock

The community will get a temporary dock this year, with construction expected to be completed in July. 

In an email to CBC News, Transport Canada states that "the government of Canada is providing capacity funding to support the Nations' input and involvement in the construction of a temporary dock, as well as funding to support the construction."

The temporary dock in Fort Chipewyan will be located at the end of Mackenzie Avenue, where it meets Slave River. 

Adam said the temporary dock is intended mainly as a boat launch site. 

"It'd be hard to swim there because it's in a river and the water is swift." 

He said the new dock will do for now and making sure everyone has safe access to the boat launch is a priority.

"We were evacuated once and to see it happening again, if that would be the case, we need someplace to launch our boats, and be mindful of the fact that when you start launching your boats, there's going to be multiple trucks and trailers down there." 

Last year, Adam expressed his frustration with the federal government, saying that the feds weren't forthcoming with information about the contaminated dock. 

Things have changed since then, he said.

"Everything improved in that matter. We all came down to it and we agreed to fix the problem instead of just leaving it unattended because of the amount of use that it gets on a seasonal basis." 

Both the temporary dock and the Big Dock will continue to be owned by Transport Canada.