Alberta First Nations leaders say federal government hid contamination at local dock
CBC
Three northern Alberta Indigenous groups say the federal government has kept them in the dark about a contaminated dock site in their community.
The Big Dock, as it's known in Fort Chipewyan, is owned by Transport Canada.
The dock is used for commercial purposes, but Allan Adam, chief of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, said the hamlet's residents also use it for "swimming, fishing, hunting, trapping and harvesting."
The community leaders became aware of the dock's contamination this summer, after they learned of a report produced by a third-party contractor in 2017.
The dock is important for the community, as it can be used for evacuations during wildfires.
In August, leaders of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis wrote a letter to the then-minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez.
"The Transport Canada dock in downtown Fort Chipewyan is the only alternative to the airport if the community is placed under an urgent evacuation alert," they wrote, particularly if evacuation by air is not possible.
"We had low water tables this year," Adam said in an interview with CBC, and they were concerned that they wouldn't be able to use it for evacuations, if the need arose.
"Due to a lack of maintenance, your refusal to dredge the surrounding area, and low water levels in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, the Transport Canada dock is not up to standard for the needs of the community," community leaders wrote in their letter to Rodriguez.
Adam said they asked Transport Canada to fix the issue, but the department didn't do it.
"We went ahead and we said that we were going to go ahead with the contracting of the remediation of the dock to repair it, so we would be able to dredge the canal to the channel."
Once they found the contractor, Adam said, the company revealed to them that there were "heavy contaminants in the area," based on the 2017 report.
Adam said Transport Canada failed to notify the community about this issue.
"The community is very concerned about the findings," he said.
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