Thousands of protesters march through downtown Toronto to Queen’s Park to protest mercury poisoning in the Wabigoon River in Grassy Narrows First Nation, September 17, 2024. Photo by Free Grassy/X.

Grassy Narrows First Nation is again facing off against a Canadian mining company to protect its land and waters from industrial contamination. The nation is opposed to plans by Toronto-based company Kinross Gold to pour treated wastewater laced with sulphate into the river system it relies on for fish. The plan was initially approved by the Ontario government but has been re-submitted by the company after a separate provincial tribunal found it to be unreasonable. According to experts, sulphate—which will not be removed from the wastewater—will dangerously compound the effects of mercury left over from decades of industrial dumping in the Wabigoon River.

Ontario’s support for Kinross’ Great Bear project goes far beyond lax regulation. Rather than protect Grassy Narrows and its environment, the province, together with the federal government, has quietly subsidized much of the exploration that undermines the First Nation’s attempts to protect its lands and waters. The Great Bear project has received more than $63 million in combined federal and provincial subsidies, allowing exploration that would likely not otherwise have been capitalized to proceed against........

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