PRESS CONFERENCE.

April 6, Noon. Where: Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil St. (South of College, East of Spadina) Speakers: Chief Simon Fobister, Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse, Maude Barlow, Judy Da Silva.Content:

The latest Grassy Narrows mercury health study will be released, and discussed by the speakers who will demand action from the government of Ontario.Newly translated health study downloadable at

FreeGrassy.org on April 6.

VISUAL:

RIVER RUN CREATIVE MARCH AND RALLY. April 7, Noon.What:

Hundreds of Grassy Narrows members, and their supporters, will deploy 1,000 meters of blue fabric to create a wild river that will flow up University Ave. to Queen’s park to deliver their demands, accompanied by traditional and samba drum groups, and by activists wearing animal costumes and large colourful fish puppets.Where

: Noon. Grange Park (behind the AGO on Beverly South of Dundas).End:

Arriving at Queen’s Park around 1 p.m. for speeches and demands.Shots:

Grassy Narrows women and youth lead the march up through Queen’s Park to the Parliament accompanied by a huge river of supporters with massive blue fabric rippling in the wind. Aerial shots available from public buildings on University Avenue (UofT lounges at College, Hospitals).Speakers:

Grassy Narrows mothers, Chief Fobister, Regional Chief Angus Toulouse, Bruce Cox (Greenpeace ED), Craig Benjamin (Amnesty), Meera Karunananthan (Council of Canadians), Joanne Webb (CUPE), and more.

PUBLIC SPEAKING EVENT.

April 6, 6:30 p.m.Speakers:

Maude Barlow, Judy Rebick, Grassy Narrows Women’s Drum Group. Where: Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil St. (South of College, East of Spadina).For more information go to: FreeGrassy.org

Context

Dr. Harada, who played a key role in exposing mercury poisoning in Minamata Japan, first visited Grassy Narrows and White Dog in 1975. He found people with mercury levels over 3 times the Health Canada limit in Grassy Narrows, and 7 times the limit in White Dog. When he returned in 2004 he found that 43% of his original Grassy Narrows patients were dead, including all those who had mercury levels above the Health Canada guidelines in 1975. Among the people who had levels below Health Canada guidelines in 1975, 89% were diagnosed with Minamata Disease (mercury poisoning), or possible Minamata Disease in 2004, even though their mercury levels were now even lower than before.Between 1962 and 1970 the Dryden mill dumped 20,000 pounds of mercury into the Wabigoon River, with the Province’s permission. According to a report prepared for the UN, less than 1/50

th of a teaspoon of mercury per 8 hectare lake surface is enough to make fish unfit for human consumption. The people of Grassy Narrows, Wabaseemoong, and Wabauskang First Nations were downstream and hurt by the health, social, and economic impacts of this poison. Overnight unemployment in Grassy Narrows skyrocketed from 10% to 90%, and a sacred food staple was lost.Mercury is a potent neurotoxin and a persistent pollutant whose health impacts include tunnel vision, loss of coordination, numbness in the extremities, tremors, loss of balance, and speech impediments. Dr. Harada’s report states that “*t+he possibility of congenital Minamata Disease occurrence is very high in these two communities.” Many Grassy Narrows mothers who cannot afford to buy food still eat fish during pregnancy and report delayed development, cerebral palsy, seizures, and other illnesses in their children. A compensation deal in 1985, reached after 7 years of negotiations, amounted to merely $8,000 per resident in Grassy Narrows and White Dog. Under the deal residents whose mercury poisoning is acknowledged by the Mercury Disability Board receive $250 to $800 a month. However, the Mercury Disability Board acknowledged only 38% of the people Dr. Harada diagnosed with Minamata Disease, Minamata Disease with complications, and possible Minamata Disease. Residents of Wabauskang (formerly Quibell), have never been compensated at all, despite reporting many miscarriages, stillbirths, and early childhood deaths from mercury poisoning.

Health Canada has stopped testing for mercury in Grassy Narrows residents claiming that it is no longer a problem because mercury levels have fallen below the Health Canada safety guideline. Dr. Harada’s study results “indicate that even being exposed under the safety guideline, if prolonged, it could cause Minamata Disease (chronic type).”

The report, “Toxic Trail Exposure,” is the result of an Ontario youth delegation that traveled together to Sarnia, Detroit and Windsor to uncover and expose the connections between the Great Lakes Region and tar sands developments.

Some of the key findings include:

Residents of Sarnia, Windsor and Detroit are located near five major tar sands oil refineries, are reporting disproportionately high rates of respiratory illness, cancers, skin disorders, and kidney problems.

Across the Great Lakes Region – in both Canada and the United States – youth are concerned about the impacts of ongoing tar sands developments and actively working to expose the dangers.

“Our findings clearly show that the tar sands are not just concerning for communities in Alberta, but a troubling national issue,” explains Tanya Roberts-Davis, report author and Polaris Institute Campaigner. “Here in Ontario, refineries that process tar sands oil are contaminating our watersheds with toxic chemicals, increasing air pollution levels, and polarizing our communities.”

Together the youth delegation and Polaris Institute are calling for a moratorium on all tar sands developments – from the pits in Alberta to the pipes and smokestacks in the Great Lakes Region.

The full report is available online at: http://www.tarsandswatch.org/files/TarSandsToxicTrail_0.pdf

Photos from the Toxic Trail Exposure tour are online at http://allan.lissner.net/tracking-the-tar-sands-toxic-tour/

For more information contact:
Tanya Roberts-Davis, Polaris Institute – 613-237-1717 x106
Elly Adeland, Polaris Institute – 613-237-1717 x104

Robertsville, Ontario Canada
Note: This interview with retired Algonquin Chief Bob Lovelace gives insights into why we have to oppose the destructive and unnatural extraction of dangerous minerals like uranium to protect all citizens. First Nations Law forbids the abuse of our Mother Earth, just as the Natural Law of most nations should.

video by Wanyee Kinuthia

Anti-uranium rally at Queen’s Park, south lawn, organized by Cottagers against Uranium Mining and Exploration. The message is clear: Stop the uranium mining industry from staking further claims, and protect all Ontarians by giving them what residents of British Columbia already enjoy—a ban on uranium mining and exploration.

Radioactive fallout and washout from uranium mining sites is carried for up to 400 kms, resulting in a significant increase of cancer fatalities in a wide area.
Kueppers 1994

“Wherever uranium is mined, it contaminates the land, air and water. Yet the province of Ontario is allowing multi-national companies to strip our local cottage-country forests and drill near our source waters in search of uranium. Most of which, is destined for export. And what they’re planning here are open-pit mines,” says Susanne Lauten, founder of Cottagers against Uranium Mining and Exploration. “British Columbia has a ban on uranium mining, Nova Scotia and Labrador have a moratorium, New Brunswick has strict regulations, but Ontario’s a free-for-all.”

Just 2 hours northeast of Toronto, south of Algonquin Park, an American mining company has bulldozed 20 hectares of mature forest, scraping the earth to bedrock. Followed by 40 test drills each 100 metres deep. All without environmental assessment. This took place in the Trent Severn watershed, source water to tens of thousands of residents.

Uranium has not been mined in Ontario since 1996, when the mines at Elliot Lake were closed, and the rich reserves in Northern Saskatchewan—the largest in the world—became Canada’s primary source. And now, just ten years later, the Ontario government is opening the door to uranium mining again. But this time, it’s open-pit mining, and it’s right on Toronto’s doorstep.

Speakers include:

Bruce Cox, Executive Director, Greenpeace Canada

Robert Lovelace, Retired Chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, and Queen’s University professor, imprisoned for 101 days for resisting uranium prospectors on aboriginal land

Terry Rees, Executive Director, Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations, FOCA

Lorraine Rekmans, Author, and witness to World Uranium Congress, Salzburg

Email: cottagers.vs.mining@sympatico.ca

*There will be road closures downtown that day due to Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and the Word on the Street.