Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on June 6th, 2019

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

I'll ask everybody to come to order. We have a second panel to get going, with officials from the Government of Ontario, and Chief Rudy Turtle.

From the Ontario government, we have Grant Wedge, assistant deputy minister, Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, and Frank Miklas, director, northern region, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Welcome to our committee. You have up to 10 minutes to present, and you can begin at any time.

After that, we will have a presentation by Chief Rudy Turtle. After both presentations, there will be an opportunity for questions from the members.

You can start any time you wish.

[Grant Wedge, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, Government of Ontario]

Good morning, Kwe.

First, Madam Chair, as you and many others have mentioned, we acknowledge our presence today on unceded Algonquin territory. If I may say, my negotiation team and ministry are working with the representatives of the Government of Canada and the representatives of the Algonquins of Ontario to reach a modern treaty agreement, which we look forward to that.

Just to clarify, Madam Chair, my understanding was that we each had 10 minutes, so we have prepared remarks in that manner.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

That's 10 minutes, 10 minutes and 10 minutes.

Is there a desire to hear from the chief first and then the Government of Ontario?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Chief Rudy Turtle, you've travelled a long way. We don't want any kind of procedural interruption. We would like to hear from you first, and then we'll hear from our important partners, the Government of Ontario.

Please start any time you are ready.

[Chief Rudy Turtle, Grassy Narrows First Nation]

Good morning.

My name is Chief Rudy Turtle. I acknowledge the indigenous land that we are on. Thank you for inviting me here today to speak to you.

I ask that you listen carefully and take my words to heart. I'm here on behalf of my people.

Our community has been poisoned by mercury. Our people are sick because the government let the companies dump mercury in our river. Our people still suffer because for many decades the government has done little to care for us. We get only the same inadequate support that any other first nation struggles with, but we have the added burden of mercury. It is not enough. The Government of Canada knows this. It has been written in expert reports over and over again. But when we seek support from Canada, we meet with delays and red tape.

More than 500 days ago, Canada promised to build and run a mercury care home in Grassy Narrows so that our sick loved ones will finally get the care and support they deserve. This was a solemn promise, and we celebrated it. I honour Jane Philpott, who was the minister then, for her fair dealing. We believed that help was finally on the way. Eighteen months later, only 1% of the funds to build the mercury care home have flowed, and the project is at a standstill.

We know the government has often broken its promises to Grassy Narrows. We suffer every day because of these broken promises. If this government is so slow to keep its promise, how can we believe that the next government will honour it? We cannot allow this promise of a mercury care home to be broken.

We have given Canada a chance to keep its promise to help our people who are suffering from mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows. I have told Minister O'Regan I am prepared to sign an agreement that honours Canada's promise of securely funding the mercury care home by putting the money in a trust well before the election. This will give us the certainty we need that the care home will be built and the promise will be kept regardless of the shifting political winds in Ottawa. After 50 years of suffering, our people deserve this certainty.

The 30-year life-cycle cost of the facility is $89 million. That is $17 million for construction and $72 million to run it for the next 30 years. This is required to make sure our people will get the kind of care they need. Canada must also keep its promise for our comprehensive mercury table, to work with us to fix what mercury has hurt in our health, our culture and our livelihood. This must be done following the recommendation of an expert community health assessment and our first nation priorities. Instead, Canada has tried to push us into signing bad deals that shortchange us, do not provide certainty and will not give our people the care they need.

We have signed bad deals before because of the government's pressure, and we are still dealing with the fallout of those bad deals. I will not make a bad deal. I will only sign something that I know my grandchildren will look back on and say their grandfather was a wise man who stood up for his people. Before I sign anything, I need to be sure the mercury care home will be built and it will give our loved ones the care they need. I need to see that the money to finish the job is there and cannot be taken away. After so many words, we need actions that our people can rely on. We have been seeking justice for 50 years. When will our loved ones who are hurting from mercury poisoning finally have a place where they can be cared for with dignity?

We have invited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to come to Grassy Narrows five times to see the suffering and to help us. He has refused.

Prime Minister Trudeau, I invite you today to show that you care by coming to Grassy Narrows and putting the full funds for the mercury home in a trust so we will know that you will keep your word. I urge you to find it in your heart to do the right thing for us.

To my people, I pledge that as your chief I will keep fighting for you until we have the justice we need. I will fight until the mercury home is built, everyone is compensated for the terrible impacts of mercury and we finally have the justice we deserve.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Thank you, Chief.

We are now moving to the Government of Ontario, starting with Grant.

[Grant Wedge]

Thank you again, Madam Chair.

My name is Grant Wedge. I am the assistant deputy minister of the negotiations and reconciliation division of the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs in Ontario.

I'm here to talk today with you about the role of the ministry in relation to the mercury disability benefits that are paid to members of both the Grassy Narrows First Nation that Chief Turtle represents and the Wabaseemoong Independent First Nations. That's of course in connection with the mercury contamination in the English and Wabigoon rivers.

I am joined today by my colleague Frank Miklas from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

My focus is on providing the committee with information about the actions that Ontario has taken and continues to take regarding mercury disability benefits.

The mercury disability fund and the Mercury Disability Board were established by Ontario's 1986 English and Wabigoon River Systems Mercury Contamination Settlement Agreement Act. Let's just call it the “mercury act” for short. It governs the administration of benefit payments to the members of Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong. Under the act, Ontario is responsible for maintaining the mercury disability fund at a level sufficient to cover all payments to qualifying benefit recipients. If I can just clarify, that is then a 100% contribution by the Government of Ontario to that fund.

Ontario contributed about $35 million to the payment of benefits between 1986 and January 2019. In addition, both Ontario and Canada contribute on a fifty-fifty basis towards the administrative and operating costs of the Mercury Disability Board, the MDB. The government representative, Keith Conn, was referring to that in his testimony.

The board consists of seven members, including a chairperson selected by the parties. Just to note, the most recent chair was Evelyn Baxter, a first nation's member who was appointed just last month to the Ontario provincial Court of Justice. We're now looking for a new chair. It also consists of one member from each of the two first nations, two qualified physicians and two other members. These two other members are normally representatives of Ontario and Canada, but that's not a requirement under the act.

The board members are appointed by a four-member search committee that is responsible for appointing and replacing members of the board. The search committee includes one representative from each of Ontario, Canada, Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong. In fact, it is usually the chiefs from the two communities who are the direct participants on that search committee.

Benefits are paid from the mercury disability fund to the members of the Grassy Narrows First Nation and Wabaseemoong who demonstrate symptoms that are reasonably consistent with mercury poisoning. These may be symptoms set out in a table of known conditions—for example, tremors, incoordination, visual impairment, or other symptoms consistent with mercury poisoning that may significantly impair the quality of life or limit the activities of an applicant. That is done through a physician review.

As of April 30, 2019, there are 263 people from the two first nations who are receiving benefits, 143 from Chief Turtle's community of Grassy Narrows and 120 from Wabaseemoong.

Following a review of MDB compensation, last fall the Ontario government committed to indexing the benefits annually to changes in inflation, as measured by the consumer price index. As a result, people saw their benefit payments almost double, beginning last November. For example, someone who was then receiving the $800 maximum payment per month prior to indexation now receives $1,720 per month.

At the time of the announcement, our minister, Minister Greg Rickford, said that Ontario hoped that these increases would help change people's lives for the better. I have provided, in English only, the news release that was issued at that time. Minister Rickford said it was unacceptable that the payments had been frozen for the previous 30 years.

To be clear, the amount is exempt from provincial taxation and does not count as income for the purpose of reducing any other benefit for which a recipient may qualify, including, for instance, the Ontario disability support program. In addition to indexing benefits on a go-forward basis, the indexation was also provided retroactively to those who were receiving benefits as of March 31, 2018. So if someone had been receiving the benefits for the last 10 years, they then received a lump sum payment to cover the 10 years of inflation.

In total, the retroactive payment to individual recipients in 2018 was $11,700,000. The number of community members who were assessed for benefits in 2018-19 included 164 adults,120 from Grassy Narrows and 44 from Wabaseemoong; and 12 children, 11 from Grassy Narrows and one from Wabaseemoong.

Thus far in 2019, this current year, there have been 75 adult assessments, 60 from Grassy Narrows and 15 from Wabaseemoong, and a further three pediatric assessments, all from Grassy Narrows. The program has experienced a 14.3% increase in the number of recipients over the past year. Those are new recipients.

If I may, I'd like to speak about some other recent developments.

Ontario is now fast-tracking MDB recipients who apply for benefits and other payments from the Ontario disability support program in addition to, or on top of, their MDB payments. As of 2018, provincial regulations governing ODSP have changed so that anyone who has previously received an award from the Mercury Disability Board will now automatically qualify for provincial disability support provided they qualify financially.

Before this change, anyone who received mercury disability awards would then have to apply separately for ODSP. I recognize it may feel like a small change, but it has significantly reduced the application burden for people who now receive both ODSP and MDB benefits. Since 2018 there have been 20 new ODSP clients from Grassy Narrows, 13 of whom have come through this new prescribed process, and four at Wabaseemoong.

In addition, the federal government is providing funding for an expert panel that is assisting the board to look into opportunities to modernize the MDB's clinical assessment process.

Madam Chair, members of the committee, in closing I would just say that I hope I have given you a sense of what it is that my ministry, Indigenous Affairs, is responsible for with regard to the MDB issues. We have taken steps to increase payments to people who have gone as many as 30 years without an increase and to reduce the burden of applications.

I'll be pleased to take questions following my colleague's remarks.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Thank you very much.

Now we'll hear from Frank Miklas.

Thank you.

[Frank Miklas, Director, Northern Region, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Government of Ontario]

Good morning.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquins.

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, for inviting Ontario this morning to talk about the role of our province in addressing the mercury contamination in the English and Wabigoon rivers, and its impact on local indigenous communities.

As you know, my name is Frank Miklas. I'm the director of the northern region with the ministry of the environment, conservation and parks.

My focus today is to provide the committee with information on the role of my ministry in addressing the important and challenging issue of mercury contamination in the English and Wabigoon rivers. I will tell the committee about the actions Ontario has taken and continues to take to identify contaminated sites and implement a remediation plan for the English and Wabigoon rivers.

During the 1960s and 1970s a chlor-alkali plant in Dryden released around 10 tonnes of mercury into the Wabigoon River. Mercury was used to make bleach in the chlor-alkali plant, and mercury escaped into the river through the mill effluent, affecting both the English and Wabigoon rivers. Similar plants operated around the world at that time.

In 1970, mercury contaminated fish was traced back to the Dryden mill, and the Province of Ontario issued a pollution control order to stop the discharge of mercury from the mill. The chlor-alkali plant was decommissioned in 1975.

In the 1980s, the federal and provincial governments established the Canada/Ontario steering committee to conduct studies in the Wabigoon River to determine the location and extent of contamination options for remediation. These recommendations were provided to a separate Canada/Ontario technical review committee, which consulted with stakeholders and made recommendations to Canada and Ontario.

In 1985, Canada and Ontario accepted the recommendations from the Canada/Ontario technical review committee, and both governments made the decision to pursue national attenuation of the river system due to concerns over the possible remobilization of the mercury.

Since the 1970s, mercury levels in fish in parts of the English and Wabigoon rivers have declined. However, current mercury levels in fish remain high, and consumption advisories are still in effect in many parts of the river system.

The mercury contamination affecting the English and Wabigoon rivers is a priority matter for the Province of Ontario. In 2018, Ontario established and funded the $85 million English and Wabigoon rivers remediation trust under the English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Funding Act. The act was enacted in 2017 to provide for the funding of the remediation of contaminants in the English and Wabigoon rivers. To date, approximately $13 million has been approved for use from the trust.

The act also enabled the establishment of the English and Wabigoon rivers remediation trust panel. The panel comprises members who represent Grassy Narrows First Nation, Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, and the Government of Ontario, and is responsible for directing the expenditure of the funding from the trust.

Other local indigenous communities also participate in panel discussions, including Eagle Lake First Nation, Wabauskang First Nation and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation.

The trust can be used for the following remediation activities: preventing or reducing the risk of a discharge of mercury; reducing the presence, concentration or bio-availability of mercury, including its presence and concentration in fish; and post-remediation monitoring.

Funds can also be used for related indigenous community engagement costs.

Considerable scientific work, both in the English and Wabigoon rivers and on the Dryden mill site, is currently in progress to assess the current state of the mercury contamination and the source of contamination. That information is necessary to determine the best remediation actions.

Ontario has been undertaking pre-remediation science activities in collaboration with local indigenous communities in the river since 2016.

This work is being done in collaboration with Grassy Narrows First Nation, Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, Eagle Lake First Nation, Wabauskang First Nation and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation.

The purpose of the river assessment work is to collect important information about the current contamination levels in sediment and in fish in the river system.

This work includes collecting samples from surface water, sediment and biota, meaning fish and invertebrates from the English and Wabigoon rivers system. More work will be undertaken over the next few months, including sampling programs led by Grassy Narrows, Wabaseemoong and Wabigoon Lake. That work has been approved and will be funded by the panel.

This information will support the identification and evaluation of options for remediation and the setting of remediation goals and objectives. Ontario recognizes the importance of transparency in a project of this scale. That is why our scientific results are shared with the local indigenous communities for their review and why we have a team of dedicated experts available to answer any questions they may have.

While the work on the river system is taking place, an assessment of the Dryden mill site by the owner is currently under way to determine whether the site is an ongoing source of mercury to the river so that action can be taken.

The mill site assessment is being completed through a transparent process that includes involvement of the communities most affected by the mercury contamination in the river system. We believe in involving indigenous communities at every step of the way. Grassy Narrows First Nation, Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, Eagle Lake First Nation, Wabauskang First Nation and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation are all involved in the assessment work ongoing at the Dryden mill site. Information about the status of the assessment is done through our working group, which was established in 2017 to act as a forum for regular communication among our ministry, indigenous communities and the mill site property owner.

A site assessment is part of the work that needs to be completed to determine whether mercury is present and potentially migrating to the river. It is being done in two phases. The first phase, completed in 2018, established the presence of elevated mercury concentrations in the soil and groundwater at the mill site.

The work plan for this year will assess whether this mercury is leaving the site and getting into the river system and, if it is, in what quantity. This is the focus of the next step of the assessment. If results of the mill site assessment show that mercury is being discharged from the site to the Wabigoon River, Ontario will ensure that action is taken to appropriately address mercury discharges from the site. The mercury contamination affecting the English and Wabigoon rivers is a very complex issue that requires meticulous scientific work to determine the best remediative course of action. We know there continues to be significant work ahead of us.

Ontario is completely committed to continuing to work with indigenous communities and our partners, including the Government of Canada, to identify mercury-contaminated sites in the English and Wabigoon Rivers and to develop and implement a plan to appropriately remediate these sites.

On behalf of the Province of Ontario, we want to thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss this important issue.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Thank you very much.

MP Yves Robillard, go ahead, please.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Thank you for your testimony.

My first question goes to Mr. Miklas.

In 2017, researchers discovered that the plant was continuing to leak old mercury into the English and Wabigoon rivers. Can you tell us in more detail about the decontamination work that your ministry has done?

[Frank Miklas]

The work done since 2017-2018 on the mill site is an assessment of the soil conditions and the groundwater on the site. The results of that work have shown that elevated levels of mercury do exist in the groundwater and in the soil, and the focus for the work this year, 2019, is to determine whether the mercury that's on the site is migrating into the river.

In terms of the work in the river, work has been done by the ministry, Grassy Narrows First Nation and the other indigenous communities to collect sediment and surface water samples to determine the extent and location of mercury contamination. That work will continue this coming year and we're still assessing, as I said, the extent and location of the contamination within the river. We're still very much at the assessment stage at this point.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Once the health care centre is built, it will be essential to provide specialized health care services for the Grassy Narrows First Nation. Since health care falls under provincial jurisdiction, can you tell us whether Ontario is committed to providing those services?

[Grant Wedge]

I think that falls to me, Mr. Robillard, through the chair.

Unfortunately, my area of responsibility with the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs does not include these issues about the funding. That is for the representatives of our Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Mr. Conn, in his testimony to you this morning, I know was referring to the various pieces of correspondence and activity between those ministries. My sense is that they would be best able to answer your question. If so, I can try to see if there's further information to provide on that.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

That would be appreciated, Mr. Wedge.

My next question is general in nature and goes to you all.

The disability board dealing with mercury cases in the Grassy Narrows and Islington bands is doing vital work in administering benefits for eligible members. Can you tell us about the board's activities?

[Grant Wedge]

If I'm understanding your question correctly, I was talking about the work of the Mercury Disability Board. That has a special purpose, which is to provide the disability payments.

Over time, there have been other committees that have been doing various kinds of activity—the federal representatives referred to some of it—but it is the board itself, which is arm's length, in the sense that it's the independent chair, with the first nations and representative of two physicians, along with a representative of Canada and Ontario to date, that monitors all of those activities with respect to the benefits that people receive.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

I'll share my time with my colleague.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

MP Mike Bossio.

[Mike Bossio, Liberal, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Thank you, Chair, and thank you for being here this morning, witnesses.

Thank you very much, Chief. I don't believe you were here earlier when I said to the government witnesses who were here that I can't even imagine what your community has gone through since 1970, with 50 years of devastation for your community. You have our deep condolences for the suffering your community has undergone. It really is a travesty, and I'm sorry that you're still here at the table having to address this committee after all this time has passed.

My first question will go to the province on intervenor funding. Are the communities of Grassy Narrows and Wabauskang receiving intervenor funding so they can hire their own experts and specialists to review the scientific data that's coming as a result of these assessments?

[Frank Miklas]

One of the provisions in the trust that has been set up and that has established a panel to make decisions on the expenditure of the funding is that the participants and members—the members include Grassy Narrows, Wabaseemoong and Ontario, and the participants are Eagle Lake, Wabauskang and Wabigoon Lake—can submit proposals to the panel for funding. In their proposals, they can request capacity funding to acquire that expertise to allow them to get that expertise to review the technical reports that are produced.

[Mike Bossio, Liberal, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Chief, can you respond to that as well? Do you feel that the community is receiving adequate funding to properly analyze and receive the evidence necessary to give you assurances that the root of this issue is being dealt with appropriately?

[Chief Rudy Turtle]

Right now, we do have a team that's doing studies. I think it's adequate for now. We're just waiting for the results. I think that this summer we will have a river team that will be doing studies close to the Dryden area. The way I see it right now, we're just waiting for these study results.

[Mike Bossio, Liberal, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Do you feel—

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

I'm sorry.

The questioning now needs to move to MPs Cathy McLeod and Arnold Viersen.