44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 16, 2022 02:00PM
- Feb/16/22 6:49:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to pursue a question I initially asked in question period late last year, on December 2, 2021. The question ended up with the Minister of Fisheries. This topic that I am going to raise again tonight crosses several different departments federally. At its core, it is about environmental racism. It is about the illegal dumping of toxic waste on Mohawk territory. I cannot imagine any non-indigenous or non-Black community allowing it, but we do have an environmental racism problem in this country. I hope my private member's bill, Bill C-226, will be passed soon. It is a non-partisan effort to make sure the federal government adopts a strategy to deal with environmental racism, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has done for decades.
To my specific example, this was part of my question on December 2:
On the Mohawk territories of Kanesatake, there is a toxic waste dump. It has been leaking harmful chemicals, and it also affects the wildlife and the fish. It is not as though the government has not said something about it.
There was a directive delivered to the toxic waste facility from the federal government on November 18, 2020, to call for the toxic waste site to be cleaned up and for the dumping of toxic waste to stop. I asked the government, “Could the minister update us on what is being done to remove the toxic waste facility from Kanesatake?” The answer came from the hon. Minister of Fisheries. I think her answer was sound, but we did not have the details. The minister said that disposing of waste in this manner is dangerous to people, fish habitats and fish, and said, “We will hold any individuals who violate this act to account.” As things progressed, it is clear that the illegal dumping continues.
The Province of Quebec allowed dumping outside the confines of the specific permit that was given in 2015 for a recycling landfill, which is what it was originally licensed for. The Province of Quebec gave that permit to G & R Recycling in 2015 and by 2016 the complaints had begun. They continued as residents nearby smelled toxic and nauseating fumes and became sickened by these fumes. Finally, in September 2020, the Province of Quebec revoked the licence. Again, as evidence of environmental racism, it was not until the black ooze from this toxic waste facility began seeping onto settler culture farms outside of the Mohawk community that the province took action.
The federal government is still looking at this situation and the figures are just astonishing. This facility was licensed for storing up to 27,800 cubic metres of waste and it now has 400,000 cubic metres of waste, or 15 times what it was originally licensed for. This should not be tolerated. The community of Kanesatake is calling out for justice.
Chief and former RCMP investigator, Jeremy Tomlinson, has said that these facilities are being built and people are paying to haul the waste away, but “instead of getting rid of it at a designated site, they’re dumping it here. Think about it, they’re building on land that was stolen from us and dumping on what little land we have left. People have had enough.” I am hoping in the late show we can get to some solutions for this community.
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- Feb/16/22 6:53:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, perhaps I will start by noting that Environment and Climate Change Canada is well aware of the issue and is working with the Kanesatake band council, Indigenous Services Canada and the Government of Quebec to resolve the situation. G & R Recycling SENC is a Mohawk company operating since 2015 as a sorting centre for construction and demolition materials on Kanesatake territory under a band council resolution and a certificate of authorization issued by the province.
Over the past three years, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Indigenous Services Canada have provided support to the Kanesatake Mohawk council's environment office to help the community address environmental issues on its territory. As part of this support, in April 2020, at the request of the band council, Environment and Climate Change Canada provided assistance to the Kanesatake environment office to carry out the environmental site assessment of G & R Recycling.
Following complaints of a discharge of water into a water body next to the G & R site in 2020 and subsequent inspections, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers issued a direction under the Fisheries Act to G & R Recycling on November 18, 2020, with respect to the discharges of deleterious substances into waters frequented by fish. Since the issuance of the direction, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers have completed at least three follow-up inspections at the site, the latest of which was less than two weeks ago. To date, the inspections have found that the company is complying with the requirements of the direction. The company was also subject to a series of enforcement actions under the Quebec Environment Quality Act that culminated in March 2020 when the province issued a ministerial order directing G & R to immediately cease the deposit of residual materials and return the site to its original state.
As my colleague, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, mentioned during question period on December 2, the protection of fish habitat and prevention of pollution in fish-bearing waters are a priority for our government. The administration of the Fisheries Act allows us to achieve that goal. The Fisheries Act contains specific provisions for the protection of waters where fish live, and the administration of these were entrusted in 1978 to the Minister of Environment. Environment and Climate Change Canada officials will continue to work with all parties to verify ongoing compliance with federal environmental legislation at this facility.
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- Feb/16/22 6:58:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her passionate remarks, which I appreciate. I will just stress again that the monitoring of the direction, with the co-operation of the regulated party, has made it possible to contain surface waters and prevent their discharge into the environment. Temporary surface water treatment solutions have been deployed, such as pumping as needed and ex situ treatment of contaminated water, pending the results of environmental assessments aimed at formulating longer-term solutions.
These solutions are now known and are in the process of being implemented. Continued monitoring is planned to ensure that surface water from the G & R Recycling SENC site no longer contravenes the Fisheries Act. Again, I appreciate the hon. member's comments this evening.
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