Kanesatake toxic dump situation 'taken out of perspective,' council grand chief

Kanesatake calls on feds to decontaminate dump The Mohawk community of Kanesatake is demanding federal help to decontaminate a dump that could be affecting the water quality.

Recent reports about an environmental catastrophe and a reign of terror in his community have been "taken way out of perspective" and unfairly maligned Kanesatake, said Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) Grand Chief Victor Bonspille.

The leader in the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) community on the shores of the Lake of Two Mountains in Quebec admitted that there is a serious issue with the toxic dump caused by the recycling site on his territory that has been the centre of news reports and political gesturing, as well as an issue with trucks from outside the territory dumping contaminated material on community members' properties.

"Yes, there's an issue with the G&R [recycling] site," he told CTV News. "But we are in discussions with the federal government to come up with a solution and a rehabilitation plan for the area, the whole, entire site. It's something that's going to happen."

Bonspille blames his predecessor, Serge Otsi Simon, for not calling the site's owners, Robert and Gary Gabriel, sooner to come up with a solution. Simon is currently serving on the MCK council as a chief.

"He [Simon] was here for 10 years and has done nothing about the issue," said Bonspille. "I am disappointed it got this far, but I'm more disappointed that Serge Simon did nothing about it in his tenure here."

There is an ongoing dispute between the two men over Simon's recent by-election, and Bonspille said a fraud investigation has been opened into the former grand chief for alleged financial mismanagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Simon, who was grand chief from 2011 to 2021, told CTV News he wished he had fought harder to stop dumping on his territory.

"The situation caught up to us so quickly. We had no idea what they were doing until it was too late," he slaid.

Bonspille said his council brought in the owners, shut down the site, and began the long work of cleaning up.

He added that the portrait being painted by Simon and others of the Gabriel brothers is unfair.

"They're nothing like what's being portrayed," he said. "He's [Simon] just spreading negativity, and he's adding that to the portrait that the whole entire of Canada is painting and looking to Kensatake as, and that's not right."

STOPPING THE TRUCKS

The garbage that is dumped in the community does not come from Kanesatake. Bonspille and Simon said there needs to be more done to stop the trucks at the point of departure so they don't wind up on the territory.

"There needs to be some type of guideline or policy or something harsher where these outside businesses are bringing in their garbage to Kanesatake," said Bonspille. "It needs to be followed so that it stays away from Kanesatake."

Bonspille said Kanesatake's environment office currently checks the manifests of trucks when they enter the territory to ensure what they're dumping is not contaminated.

However, he said without a police force or trained environmental officers it is difficult to stop the flow of refuse.

Bonspille said he needs the province at the table and more resources to establish environmental agents and the means to enforce regulations.

Simon said outside companies know they can offer money to community members to dump in Kanesatake with little recourse.

"The industry takes advantage of it, and band members around here will do anything to stay out of poverty, and unfortunately, the environment takes a hit," he said. "The truckers know environmental laws do apply, and they knowingly dump these contaminants on private property.

"The truckers and the companies know this, but there's a grey zone in Kanesetake where there's no enforcement, so there's a safe bet that they can get away with it."

Canadian Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller commented on outside players dumping in Kanesatake on Wednesday in Ottawa.

"Let's also be clear to say that, for years, non-Indigenous Quebecers, with full knowledge of the facts, have used the dump illegally," he said. "So there is a huge responsibility on the part of people who knew they could abuse this - I wouldn't use the word 'illegal,' but on the part of certain people who made a short-term profit to perhaps sacrifice the future of their own community."

Quebec Minister responsible for Indigenous Affairs Ian Lafreniere said Quebec came up with an action plan to stop trucks from dumping last year and that it has worked thus far.

"Now we need to take care of the dump site, and there needs to be a large amount of money invested in this, but the feds need to be responsible for this," he told CTV News.

GOVERNMENTS RESPONDING

Quebec NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice asked Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu about the issue in Question Period on Tuesday, calling for a parliamentary enquiry to find out the "exact causes of the disaster."

"The smell is appalling. The damage is real. The members of the community can't take it anymore. They are intimidated and left to fend for themselves," he said. "Federal intervention is urgently needed."

Hajdu echoed Bonspille, saying, "The federal government has been working with Kanesatake leaders to determine a solution to move forward in a way that protects the health and safety of the community."

Hajdu agreed that Canada needs to do better to protect Indigenous lands.

In Quebec City, the opposition Liberal critics for Indigenous and the environment issued a joint statement calling on Legault's CAQ government to act.

"The CAQ government can no longer ignore the ongoing environmental situation in the Mohawk community of Kanesatake," read the statement from MNAs Désirée McGraw and André A. Morin. "We hope that the Minister of the Environment [Benoit Charette], whose riding includes the Lake of Two Mountains, will respond to the cry of the community members."

Quebec's environment ministry told CTV that it inspected the site, fined the owners of the dump and withdrew the permit it issued in 2015. In a statement, the ministry said it is working with Canada and the MCK on the issue.

"It should be noted that the Government of Quebec cannot contribute financially to the rehabilitation of the land. The site, which is federally owned, is not eligible for Quebec's environmental liability," said ministry spokesperson Frédéric Fournier. "The MELCCFP is continuing its monitoring activities at G&R and in the surrounding area."

With reporting from CTV News journalist Sasha Teman and Ian Wood.