TORONTO – Canada’s biggest city isn’t your typical camping destination, but Chrissy Isaacs was on no ordinary camping trip.
The community activist from Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation chose to camp on the south lawn of Queen’s Park as an act of protest.
Isaacs is demanding that Premier Doug Ford rescind Bill 5 — legislation opposed by First Nations across Ontario, as well as environmentalist groups and many labour unions.
The legislation titled the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act passed in a 71-44 vote Wednesday afternoon in the provincial legislature, against the opposition of New Democrats and Liberals.
Isaacs said in a news release it will “hurt my family by allowing even more pollution of our life-giving river.”
Her family has been impacted by mercury poisoning in the English-Wabigoon River system from a mill in Dryden, upstream from Grassy Narrows.
The contamination has caused generational health issues and contaminated fish and wildlife.
Isaacs camped overnight into Thursday morning with about 100 other activists opposed to a bill she says imperils her First Nation.
She said Grassy Narrows is already imperilled by ongoing mercury contamination, mineral exploration and the prospect of nuclear waste being kept upstream, referring to the deep geological repository the Nuclear Waste Management Organization wants to build east of Wabigoon Lake.
“With Bill 5, the concern is that it's pushing open the gates for companies to just go ahead and come in and do whatever they want without us knowing, or without us having a say.
“We are a people of the water and the land. Fishing, hunting, collecting medicines and being on the land for ceremony is simply who we are. No law from Doug Ford is going to change that.
“If he continues with this law, we don’t have a choice but to resist.”
