Latest news with #Indigenous
Canada News.Net
an hour ago
- Health
- Canada News.Net
Yellowknife's Giant Mine: Canada downplayed arsenic exposure as an Indigenous community was poisoned
Share article Print article Decades of gold mining at Giant Mine in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, has left a toxic legacy: 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust stored in underground chambers. As a multi-billion government remediation effort to clean up the mine site and secure the underground arsenic ramps up, the Canadian government is promising to deal with the mine's disastrous consequences for local Indigenous communities. In March, the minister for Crown-Indigenous relations appointed a ministerial special representative, Murray Rankin, to investigate how historic mining affected the treaty rights of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. We document this history in our forthcoming book, The Price of Gold: Mining, Pollution, and Resistance in Yellowknife, exposing how colonialism, corporate greed and lax regulation led to widespread air and water pollution, particularly affecting Tatst'ne (Yellowknives Dene) communities. We also highlight the struggle for pollution controls and public health led by Tatst'ne and their allies, including mine workers. The story begins when prospectors discovered a rich gold ore body at Giant Mine in the 1930s. While mining started at the nearby Con Mine in the late 1930s, Giant's development was interrupted by the Second World War. Only with new investment and the lifting of wartime labour restrictions in 1948 did Giant Mine start production. Mining at Giant was a challenge. Much of the gold was locked within arsenopyrite formations, and to get at it, workers needed to crush, then roast the gold ore at very high temperatures. This burned off the arsenic in the ore before using cyanide treatment to extract gold. One byproduct of this process was thousands of tonnes per day of arsenic trioxide, sent up a smokestack into the local environment. In addition to being acutely toxic, arsenic trioxide is also linked to lung and skin cancers, though scientific understanding of environmental exposures was inconclusive at the time. Archival records show that federal public health officials recommended the roaster be shut down until arsenic emissions could be controlled. But the company and federal mining regulators dragged their feet, fearing the economic impact. The result, in 1951, was the poisoning death of at least one Dene child on Latham Island (now Ndil), near the mine; his family was compensated a paltry $750. Many Dene in Ndil relied on snow melt for drinking water, and there were reports of widespread sickness in the community. Local animals, including dairy cattle and sled dogs, also became sick and died. Only after this tragedy did the federal government force the company to implement pollution controls. The control system was not terribly effective at first, though as it improved, arsenic emissions dropped dramatically from nearly 12,000 pounds per day to around 115 pounds per day in 1959. Thousands of tonnes of arsenic captured through this process was collected and stored in mined-out chambers underground. Throughout the 1960s, public health officials continually downplayed concerns about arsenic exposure in Yellowknife, whether via drinking water or on local vegetables. By the 1970s, however, latent public health concerns over arsenic exposure in Yellowknife became a major national media story. It began with a CBC Radio As it Happens episode in 1975 that unearthed an unreleased government report documenting widespread, chronic arsenic exposure in the city. Facing accusations of a cover-up, the federal government dismissed health concerns even as it set up a local study group to investigate them. Suspicious of government studies and disregard for local health risks, Indigenous communities and workers took matters into their own hands. A remarkable alliance emerged between the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories and the United Steelworkers of America (the union representing Giant Mine workers) to undertake their own investigations. They conducted hair samplings of Dene children and mine workers - the population most exposed to arsenic in the community - and submitted them for laboratory analysis. The resulting report accused the federal government of suppressing health information and suggested children and workers were being poisoned. The controversy made national headlines yet again, prompting an independent inquiry by the Canadian Public Health Association. The association's 1978 report somewhat quelled public concern. But environmental and public health advocates in Yellowknife continued their fight for pollution reduction through the 1980s. As Giant Mine entered the turbulent final decade of its life, including a violent lockout in 1992, public concern mounted over the growing environmental liabilities. Most urgently, people living in and near Yellowknife began to realize that enough arsenic trioxide had been stored underground over the years to poison every human on the planet four times over. Without constant pumping of groundwater out of the mine, the highly soluble arsenic could seep into local waterways, including Yellowknife Bay. When the company that owned the mine, Royal Oak Mines, went bankrupt in 1999, it left no clear plan for the remediation of this toxic material, and very little money to deal with it. The federal government assumed primary responsibility for the abandoned mine and, in the quarter century since, developed plans to clean up the site and stabilize the arsenic underground by freezing it - an approach that will cost more than $4 billion. Public concern and activism by Yellowknives Dene First Nation and other Yellowknifers prompted a highly contested environmental assessment and the creation of an independent oversight body, the Giant Mine Oversight Board in 2015. Under the current remediation strategy, the toxic waste at Giant Mine will require perpetual care, imposing a financial and environmental burden on future generations. The long history of historical injustice resulting from mineral development and pollution around Yellowknife remains unaddressed. In support of calls for an apology and compensation, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation recently published reports that include oral testimony and other evidence of impacts on their health and land in their traditional territory. Hopefully, the Canadian government's appointment of the special representative means the colonial legacy of the mine will finally be addressed. Giant Mine serves as a warning about the current push from governments and industry to ram through development projects without environmental assessments or Indigenous consultations.
Cision Canada
an hour ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Government of Canada sells Rimouski Armoury for student housing Français
GATINEAU, QC, /CNW/ - Everyone deserves a place to call home. However, Canada's housing crisis is making it increasingly difficult for many people across the country to access housing. Post-secondary students are no exception: in many regions, they are struggling to find affordable housing that meets their needs. As part of its plan to build more homes, the Government of Canada is identifying federal properties that have the potential for housing and is making them available through the Canada Public Land Bank. Today, the Honourable Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement and the Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, announced that the Rimouski Armoury in Rimouski, Quebec, has been sold to Immeubles Must Urbain Inc., which is planning to build student housing while also preserving the heritage of the existing building. Public Services and Procurement Canada added the former National Defence property to the Canada Public Land Bank in August 2024, as part of the Public Lands for Homes Plan, an ambitious, whole-of-government approach to addressing the housing crisis by building more homes and making it easier to rent or own a home. Through the Canada Public Land Bank, we are providing access to federal properties in a transparent way to all stakeholders: large developers, small companies, Indigenous communities and organizations, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, provinces, territories and municipalities, and Canadian citizens. This is allowing us to accelerate the federal government's established disposal process. To date, we have received hundreds of initial inquiries for properties currently listed in the land bank. These inquiries span properties located across most provinces and territories. Quotes "Since launching the Canada Public Land Bank in August 2024, we have identified 90 federal properties that are available for housing development. I'm pleased to announce the sale of the Rimouski Armoury, which will be developed into student housing to provide affordable options for students in the region. This is one example of how our whole-of-government approach is addressing the country's housing crisis." The Honourable Joël Lightbound Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement "To address the shortage in housing supply, we must do things differently and work in partnership to build more housing, faster. Since the launch of the Canada Public Land Bank, 90 federal properties have been identified to meet housing needs. This announcement of the sale of the Rimouski Armoury, which will be converted into affordable housing for students, is a clear example of our commitment to putting federal assets to work for the needs of Canadians." The Honourable David J. McGuinty Minister of National Defence Quick facts The former National Defence armoury in Rimouski, Quebec, is a heritage building that has been unused since 2005. The property is located near the University of Quebec at Rimouski, at 65 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street East, Rimouski, Quebec. The private developer who purchased the property is proposing to build 24 student housing units while preserving the building's heritage. A key component of Canada's Housing Plan is the new Public Lands for Homes Plan. This initiative aims to partner with all levels of government, homebuilders and housing providers to build homes, faster, on surplus and underused public lands across the country. Associated links Public lands for homes Follow us on X (Twitter) Follow us on Facebook
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
First Nations call off talks on forestry bill, say Quebec disrespecting rights
MONTREAL – First Nations in Quebec are suspending consultations with the government on its planned forestry reform because they say the province is not respecting their rights. The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador says in an open letter that Quebec's minister of natural resources has failed to recognize the status of its members as Indigenous governments. The Quebec government tabled a bill last spring that would divide public forests into three zones, including one that would prioritize forestry. But the assembly says the zoning approach paves the way for a form of land privatization, and it accuses the government of refusing to engage on the issue. The group, which represents 43 First Nations communities, had agreed to consultations with the government after the bill was tabled in April. The minister has said the legislation is intended to protect communities that rely on the forest industry in an uncertain economic time. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Indigenous governments finalize $375M land protection deal
Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories are at the centre of one of the world's largest land protection efforts, following the signing on Monday of a landmark $375 million agreement. The 'Our Land for the Future' grant will put about 30 per cent of the territory — or two per cent of the entire country, an area of 380,000 square kilometres — under Indigenous care. The grant brings together leaders from Tłı̨chǫ, Délı̨nę Got'ınę, and 19 other Indigenous governments, alongside federal and territorial representatives and philanthropic funders. The agreement's negotiations started in 2021 and were strengthened by a public pledge made last November. 'Today was really about taking that next step, and making all those commitments come into reality and working to commit the dollars, the public dollars, to the trust,' said Dahti Tsetso, CEO of Our Land for the Future Trust and a Tłı̨chǫ Dene member. 'It truly feels like we've really done it and we've done it together.' The trust is funded through a project finance for permanence model, which pools $300 million from the federal government with an additional $75 million from private and philanthropic partners. Out of the $375 million, $285 million will be spent over the next 10 years to support Indigenous Guardians, create new conserved areas, enable climate research and provide land and language programming, jobs and local research opportunities. The remaining $90 million will go into a fund to help cover future costs of running and managing these protected areas. Tsetso said the work ahead goes far beyond just numbers. 'What's really meaningful is the impact this is going to have on people, because it's going to bring resources into our communities and into the regions that create meaningful work for Indigenous guardians, for Indigenous leaders to apply an Indigenous worldview to the work,' she said. Federal officials hailed the agreement as a milestone for conservation and reconciliation. 'Indigenous-led stewardship helps communities, lands, and waters thrive, and NWT: Our Land for the Future is a powerful example of how Indigenous peoples are modelling this leadership for the world,' said Julie Dabrusin, minister of Environment and Climate Change in a press release. 'It reflects our shared commitment to reconciliation, protecting nature, fighting climate change, and building a more sustainable future for all Canadians.' The Northwest Territories is home to some of Canada's biggest wilderness areas, including forests, tundra and waterways like the Mackenzie River and Great Bear Lake. Communities such as Délı̨nę, which sits on the shore of Great Bear Lake, have wanted more control over taking care of their land, especially after decades where treaties and outside management boards shaped life without much community input. 'Governments and programs and services have been taking the Indigenous out of me,' said Danny Gaudet, leader of the Délı̨nę Got'ınę government. 'And this is a real significant milestone to start working towards bringing the Indigenous back and bring me back to the land.' He said new funding means his community can now focus on mapping and documenting their knowledge and record the impact of any future industry or development themselves. 'We know exactly what we're talking about. We know exactly what we could speak to them about and the information should belong to us,' he said. Gaudet said that the decline in traditional language, food and family time on the land are all deeply connected, and that the investment will allow families to spend more time out on their territory. 'I could actually work hard to bring families back to the land, and that would strengthen the language,' he said. 'We're losing a language because we're not out on the land.' Chief James Marlowe of the Łutsël K'é Dene First Nation said the funding will help support the nation's efforts in the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area. 'This is a great opportunity for LKDFN and we are very happy to see the funding flowing now,' Marlowe said in a press release. Negotiations to reach the deal were long and complex, with legal teams, Elders, and leaders from every signatory meeting again and again, said Tsetso, who was at the center of these negotiations. She said appointed directors will begin setting final policies and getting dollars to communities as soon as possible. There is already interest in adding to the fund, with private donors considering another $25 million. Tsetso said the hope is that this is only the start of a new era. 'I know there's so many young people out there within our communities who are going to benefit from these opportunities. … That truly gives me so much hope to envision a future in 10 years' time where we have our own people out on the land, taking care of the land, tapping into generational knowledge, sharing that knowledge with the world.' Sonal Gupta / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada's National Observer Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
First Nations call off talks on forestry bill, say Quebec disrespecting rights
MONTREAL - First Nations in Quebec are suspending consultations with the government on its planned forestry reform because they say the province is not respecting their rights. The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador says in an open letter that Quebec's minister of natural resources has failed to recognize the status of its members as Indigenous governments. The Quebec government tabled a bill last spring that would divide public forests into three zones, including one that would prioritize forestry. But the assembly says the zoning approach paves the way for a form of land privatization, and it accuses the government of refusing to engage on the issue. The group, which represents 43 First Nations communities, had agreed to consultations with the government after the bill was tabled in April. The minister has said the legislation is intended to protect communities that rely on the forest industry in an uncertain economic time. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.
