WINNIPEG—Leah Gazan, NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, issued the following statement:

“I am disgusted by the conduct of Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford, who laughed at and mocked members of Grassy Narrows First Nation.

The voice of Chrissy Isaacs, a woman living with mercury poisoning, should have been met with respect and urgency. Instead, after she spoke out, the Prime Minister dismissed and laughed at her, saying, “I can outlast her.” That is deeply disrespectful and shows a failure of leadership.

For decades, Grassy Narrows has lived with the consequences of 10 tonnes of mercury dumped into the English-Wabigoon river system—a public health crisis that continues to this day. Generations of Anishinaabe people continue to suffer the devastating impacts of mercury poisoning, affecting their health, their families, their culture, and their ability to exercise their Treaty rights.

New evidence shows that governments have allowed ongoing toxic discharges, worsening the contamination. Methylmercury continues to accumulate in the fish that community members rely on for sustenance, livelihood, and cultural survival. This is a direct and ongoing violation of their rights.

At the same time, the federal government has advanced legislation that fast tracks so-called projects of national interest without respecting the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples. These decisions weaken environmental oversight and ignore the constitutional protections affirmed in Section 35.

The Constitution is not optional. Treaty rights are not optional. The health, dignity, and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples are not optional.

Is the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples not in the national interest? Is the voice of a woman living with mercury poisoning not worthy of respect? Is the protection of lands and waters not fundamental to who we are as a country?

Grassy Narrows deserves justice. It deserves clean water. It deserves full accountability from governments that have failed for far too long to uphold their obligations. It’s unacceptable for Prime Minister Carney to neglect his responsibility to the Grassy Narrows First Nation. I echo their call on the Prime Minister to issue an apology and to meet personally with the Grassy Narrows leadership as soon as possible to discuss compensation for the injustices they have suffered.”