Grassy Narrows First Nation sees start of mercury treatment facility — decades after river was poisoned

WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.

Robert Williamson says he remembers watching his parents lose their only source of income as his neighbours started to get sick.

Now, he's sick, too, but his hope is that his grandchildren won't suffer the same symptoms he does.

Williamson, like roughly 90 per cent of residents in Grassy Narrows First Nation, has been impacted by mercury poisoning that dates back to the 1960s and '70s, when the Dryden Paper Mill dumped about nine tonnes of the toxin into the English-Wabigoon River System in northwestern Ontario.

On Wednesday, he joined fellow mercury sufferers in a groundbreaking ceremony for the community's long-awaited Mercury Care Home.

"It's something that should have happened a long time ago, instead of us having to fight so hard to get to this point," said Williamson.

Standing on the mud-covered earth beneath the bright winter sun, a couple of hundred people gathered as the golden shovels hit the ground in the Ojibway community near the Ontario-Manitoba border.

The home will provide in-patient services for 22 people and outpatient services for all affected community members. First promised in 2017 and delayed for several years, the state-of-the-art facility — shaped like a sturgeon — is anticipated to be ready in two to three years.

The federal government says it's spending $82 million on the construction of the 6,500 square-foot home and $68.9 million on a community trust to support ongoing operations.

Grassy Narrows Chief Sherry Ackabee says having these health-care services in the community means mercury sufferers who have moved elsewhere for treatment can come home.

"That's what we've been waiting for, and that's what our elders have been waiting for," Ackabee said.

Poisoned river, tainted livelihoods

The main way the mercury is transmitted is by people eating fish from the river. It can then be passed on to babies during pregnancy — something Ackabee says happened to her child.

Fewer than 1,000 people live in the community and fish has always been a staple of their diet. Williamson says they aren't willing to give it up.

"We can't help ourselves; it's the food that's here," he said. "We need it."

The river's contamination also meant the destruction of the First Nation's fishing industry.

"It affected the social well-being of everyone in the community and it led to a lot of drinking and a lot of suicides over the course of my lifetime," Williamson said.

Donna Mergler has co-led several studies on mercury in Grassy Narrows. Her work has found a link between mercury exposure and premature mortality, and a heightened risk of suicide among young people.

Symptoms of mercury poisoning include tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches, and both cognitive and motor dysfunction.

Chrissy Isaacs, a mercury sufferer and activist, said an 11-year-old in her family died by suicide.

Whether the symptoms are mental or physical, she said, many community members are brushed off in health-care settings due to racism.

Her hope is that providing more services in the community will lead to better health-care outcomes.

However, in the long term, she and many others want to see the Dryden Paper Mill shut down, especially after a study emerged from Western University in London, Ont., that suggests the river's contamination is being made worse by ongoing industrial pollution.

"When I'm gone, I hope that my children carry that on, to keep fighting for justice for our community and for the lives that were lost," Isaacs said.

Creating jobs, community-led solutions

The care home is expected to create more than 100 jobs, from nurses and personal support workers to maintenance staff.

Lauri-Ann Marshall, director of the Mercury Care Home, said work is underway to train as many community members as possible.

"It makes good and right sense to pursue that pathway, because who better knows what the community members are living and experiencing, right?" she said.

Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu said it took time to get the federal government and Grassy Narrows on the same page for the project, but it was essential to make sure the community led the way.

"Once we had a common understanding, then my job was to go and find the gap between what the resources were that we had already earmarked for the project, and what we knew we were going to need to complete it to this vision," said Hajdu.

While waterways are provincially regulated and the Ontario government is tasked with the river system's remediation, Hajdu said Ottawa will keep supporting Grassy Narrows, even after the care home's construction.

But the battle isn't over; the First Nation continues to push for the river to be cleaned up and for all affected community members to be compensated.

Grassy Narrows has taken both the provincial and federal governments to court over the issue, appealed to a human rights commission last year, and has held a number of demonstrations, including a vigil just last week.

Still, people like Williamson remain hopeful that the Mercury Care Home is a sign of better days to come.

"That's a really good feeling to know that somebody will be there to take care of me when I need it," he said.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Nishnawbe Aski Mental Health and Addictions Support Access Program: 1-844-NAN-HOPE (626-4673) Open 24/7. Crisis support phone line for NAN members.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Text or call 9-8-8 for mental health support. Open 24/7.
• Hope for Wellness: 1-855-242-3310 Open 24/7. Provides free phone and live online chat counselling on the website for Indigenous people. Support available in Ojibway (Anishinaabemowin), Cree and Inuktitut upon request. 
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Open 24/7. Free phone and live chat counselling on the website for youth in Canada. 
• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.