Thousands march in Toronto to demand justice for Grassy Narrows

By Matteo Cimellaro  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Chrissy Isaacs’s grandson knows the water is sick. He freaks out when he sees someone drinking from the tap. All he has known are big blue water jugs. That’s why Isaac gets emotional today. She’s from Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation), near the Manitoba and Ontario border, about 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay. She has been fighting for environmental justice in her community since she was a youth. Today, she is a grandmother, “I’m still here fighting, you know, and it shouldn’t be that way.” For more than 50 years, Isaac’s community has faced a methylmercury poisoning crisis that has affected five generations of community members. On average, people here live only into their 50s or 60s, which is at…

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