By Matteo Cimellaro & Natasha Bulowski Local Journalism Initiative The discovery that pollution from a paper mill is contributing to the long-standing mercury poisoning afflicting Grassy Narrows First Nation is another example of widespread environmental racism, say federal MPs. The mercury contamination at Grassy Narrows dates back to the 1960s and ’70s, when Dryden Chemical dumped roughly 10 metric tonnes of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River system. The pollution has caused serious health problems for the vast majority of members of Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations, including neurological issues, birth defects and more. “The reality is Indigenous communities, racialized communities have to continue to suffer when corporations pollute,” Edmonton-Griesbach NDP MP Blake Desjarlais said, pointing to the Grassy Narrow’s case and Danielle Smith’s government’s RStar program that “uses tax…
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