Summer's Over

Squamish: Tree that perished without a fire, with wildfire smoke.

Just before I left on holiday, the Ontario government announced that it was committing $85 million dollars to clean up the English/Wabigoon river system, or, the way people have more commonly heard it, Grassy Narrows.

Grassy Narrows is one of too many woeful stories in Canada of governments making decisions that did enduring damage to First Nations communities.

In this case, almost sixty years ago, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment gave license to a plant in Dryden to allow mercury to make its way into the river. 170 km downstream, people in a First Nations community that relied on fish in the river for food developed symptoms of Minimata disease.

Steps were taken to stop the problem but, fifty years later, mercury levels in fish in the river are still the highest in the province; hence, the government's promise.

Now, people may think that once a government has made an announcement like this, all that is left to do is write the cheque and move on.

Nope. 

There are lots of things to do, all of which are, of course, completely confidential. You can expect to hear from our friend the Ruler and her Advisors in future posts. 

Whether the posts will be coming from her temporary residence in Dryden, Ontario is something I can neither confirm nor deny at this time.

Thanks for reading!

Have a great week!

Karen