At a press conference this morning, the northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan, including leaders of three local First Nation and Métis communities, accused Transport Canada of withholding critical information about water contamination near their main dock. 

Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam says a 2017 report showing high levels of toxicity was buried — and is only coming to light now, seven years later — after it was shared with Fort Chipewyan leadership by a third-party contractor earlier this year. A copy of the report was provided to Ricochet. 

The revelation has sent shockwaves through the community, and is raising serious questions about government transparency and environmental justice.

“[The 2017 report] showed 33 out of 35 test locations that showed levels of toxins above legal limits,” said Chief Adam during the virtual press conference, which also featured leaders of the Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation.

The northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan. Photo via CBC.

“The water sediments, the shores, and the dock itself are all contaminated. They found heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and iron, and they also found uranium. They found hydrocarbons and PAHs all above legal limits. Many are above the thresholds for human health, aquatic, bio, and animal health. Many of these substances are linked to cancer and other diseases. Since learning of this, we conducted two of our own studies that confirmed that the sites are still contaminated with cancer causing agents.”

This news is particularly distressing, said Chief Adam, given that community members, including children, have been unknowingly exposed to these hazards for years, regularly swimming in the contaminated waters and docking their boats at the affected site.

“The 2017 report only considered commercial use for the site and did not reflect the reality of people swimming, fishing, hunting, trapping and harvesting there. The fact that they’ve deliberately withheld this information is outstanding.”

A spokesperson for Transport Canada denied that there was any risk to human health, based on their risk assessments, and provided a statement from the minister’s office. 

“Our Government is working with the local First Nations community to ensure that operations at the port facility are carried out safely. Remote and Indigenous communities must have access to the safe and reliable connectivity that they need.”

Leaders of the three nations represented at the press conference said they have not heard from Transport Canada.

‘Enough is enough’

The discovery of the Transport Canada report showing contamination near the Big Dock in Fort Chipewyan came after the ACFN asked the federal government to dredge the dock for emergency egress purposes last spring, but were refused. ACFN then applied to the government to dredge the dock themselves but were also denied without being told why.

Shortly after, Fort Chipewyan leadership (including ACFN, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Metis) say they learned that the government had deemed the site contaminated as early as 2017, but had failed to notify the community, or update the federal database on contaminated sites. The Transport Canada spokesperson confirmed that dredging would move contaminated sediment, which is why it could not be allowed, and said the ministry is working to find a solution to remediate the sediment at the site. 

For a community already grappling with disproportionately high rates of cancer and other diseases long suspected to be linked to industrial activities from the nearby oil sands, this revelation adds another layer to their ongoing health concerns.

The potential long-term impacts of this prolonged exposure have yet to be fully understood, leaving residents anxious about their health and the future of their community.

Chief Adam didn’t mince words when addressing the issue. “This is environmental racism. And it’s deadly,” he stated.

Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation President Kendrick Cardinal stressed the importance of nation-to-nation relationships and respecting constitutional rights when it comes to implementing reconciliation in the matter.

“Enough is enough,” said Cardinal.

“Reconciliation is not a one-sided affair. It’s all levels of government coming together and acknowledging the work that we have ahead of us. I believe in moving forward, we need to have defining moments as to how we adjust our relationship, it’s important that we acknowledge the inherit rights of the Indigenous people of Fort Chipewyan and how important it is to them to have access to on-the-land activities and to be able to provide for their families like they have done for centuries. I am open to options, clear community dialogue, and having all parties at the table.”

‘We will shut down the economic engine of Canada…’

The community’s leadership is now demanding that the federal government take responsibility for what they describe as an egregious oversight. However, they say they have not heard anything from Transport Canada since they learned about the contamination earlier this year.

Fort Chipewyan leadership say the federal government’s response, or lack thereof, has further exacerbated the situation. To date, the government has made no effort to repair the dock or remediate the contaminated site.

“With reconciliation being at the forefront of the government agenda, it’s appalling that this situation has never been brought to our attention,” said Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy Tuccaro.

“We demand answers and want immediate action to address this. The health of our people is our top priority, we will not stand idle in the face of government inaction on this.”

“This is environmental racism. And it’s deadly.”

Chief Tuccaro took the opportunity of the press conference to issue a stark warning to the Canadian government. “We will shut down the economic engine of Canada if this situation isn’t rectified,” he declared, referring to the possibility of disrupting operations in the Alberta oil sands.

For the residents of Fort Chipewyan, however, the immediate concern remains clear: ensuring the safety of their water, the health of their community, and the preservation of their way of life in the face of this newly uncovered threat.

Fort Chipewyan has dealt with environmental contamination for decades. Just two years ago, in May of 2022, seepage was discovered from a tailings pond at Imperial Oil’s Kearl oil sands mine approximately 300 kilometers south of Fort Chipewyan. The situation escalated in February of 2023 when a larger spill of 5.3 million liters of contaminated water was reported.

The incident involved industrial wastewater from tailings ponds, which contains toxic substances from oil sands processing. The spill was not immediately reported to local Indigenous communities, including Fort Chipewyan, or the public. In response, both federal and provincial authorities launched investigations into the incident and the delayed reporting. In August, Imperial Oil was fined $50,000 after the Alberta Energy Regulator found the company broke environmental laws involving the Kearl Mine spills.