Anishinaabek elders and environmentalists unite to call for halt on herbicide use in Ontario forests

By Jacqueline St. Pierre   Local Journalism Initiative TORONTO—A powerful coalition of voices representing the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Elders in the Robinson-Huron Treaty Territory gathered at Queen’s Park  on Earth Day to advocate for the cessation of herbicide spraying in Ontario’s forests. Led by Elder Caroline Recollet of the Wahnapitae First Nation and Jo Bissaillion of the Serpent River First Nation, the group was joined by environmental advocates Joel Theriault of Stop the Spray Ontario, Mary Lou MacDonald from Safe Food Matters and Jessica Murray from Sierra Club. While the area currently affected is the North Shore, due to the large swaths of Crown Land, Anishinaabe elders from Manitoulin Island such as Evelyn Roy of M’Chigeeng First Nation have joined the fight. “They are killing the animals; they are killing…

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