TORONTO – Ontario’s government has had a report in hand about mercury contamination upstream from the Grassy Narrows First Nation for more than a year, but the premier says she didn’t see it.
Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister David Zimmer says the report was received by his ministry in September of 2016.
READ MORE: Justin Trudeau criticized for saying Grassy Narrows ‘very much’ Ontario’s responsibility
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But Premier Kathleen Wynne says she is trying to find out why that never made its way to her because it’s concerning if she doesn’t have the information she needs to make good decisions.
The Toronto Star has reported on a document by an environmental consulting firm showing contamination from a decommissioned mill continued to linger for decades and likely still does.
READ MORE: Study claims mercury still leaking from mill near Grassy Narrows: chief
The Ontario government announced in June that it would spend $85 million to remediate the mercury contamination, months after a report commissioned by the Grassy Narrows community suggested there was ongoing mercury contamination.
Wynne also says Ontario needs the federal government to work with the province on a compensation fund.
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