Ottawa is failing to clean up contaminated sites in the North, leaving Indigenous people at risk and increasing the government’s own financial liability for polluted areas, Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco concludes in a new audit released Tuesday.
Mr. DeMarco’s investigation found that the government’s liability for contaminated sites has increased by $7 billion since 2005, when the government launched its plan to remediate and reclaim abandoned mines.
This total financial liability associated with known contaminated sites reached $10.1 billion in 2022-2023, indicates Commissioner DeMarco. And more than 60% of this responsibility lies in the North.
“After 20 years, much remains to be done to reduce the financial liability associated with contaminated sites and to reduce environmental and health risks for current and future generations,” DeMarco said Tuesday.
“Additionally, the government must take urgent action to improve socio-economic benefits, including employment opportunities, and to support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples whose lands are often affected by contaminated sites. »
Mr. DeMarco points out that in one mine, work is still underway to prevent contaminated water from seeping into surrounding areas, while another still harbors a large volume of arsenic that must remain frozen underground. .
Most of these sites are on Indigenous land, but DeMarco says communities are not fully involved in restoration efforts.
A collaboration to work on
The commissioner said the remediation of contaminated sites in the North constitutes “an important opportunity to support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and promote economic development.”
He recalled that during the remediation work at the Giant Mine, near Yellowknife, the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada had failed to achieve employment objectives for Indigenous and Northern workers. .
Although the ministry began developing a socio-economic framework for the Faro mine in south-central Yukon, it was unable to complete it. Mr. DeMarco emphasizes, however, that this ministry exceeded internal objectives in terms of training Aboriginal people, northerners and women during the pre-rehabilitation work.
Mr. DeMarco recalls that Indigenous people have expressed concerns about the management of projects by the federal government, saying there has been a lack of meaningful engagement, consultation and consideration of their contributions. It also found a lack of community capacity and administrative burdens, as well as a lack of socio-economic benefits.
The environment commissioner urges the federal government to “seek ways to increase opportunities for Indigenous people to participate in and benefit from the management of contaminated sites in the North” — something the Ministry of Crown Relations -Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada have agreed to do so.
Ottawa has much work to do not only to reduce its financial liability, but also to address the very real environmental and health risks for current and future generations in the region, Commissioner DeMarco concluded.