page 6 -February 25, 1976 - North Shore News

‘Chisso Chemical Company. discharged’ thousands | of tons: of mercury into Minimata ‘Bay in
| Japan, destroying the fishing. industry and. ‘aning to date 120 people. Is the same thing

happening here?

Victims b k
story to Cap Col

*
uy

aa

oa

ring mercury
lege

If you feed a cat a fish from the English river in northern Ontario it dies ©
within a hundred days. In Japan 120 people have died from eating the fish in
Minimata Bay. Representatives from both these stricken areas will-be on the
north shore next week to show films and speak. about the problem of mercury

poisoning.

‘Tom Keesick, former chief |

of the Grassy Narrows Indian
Reserve, will tell the story of
his people’s campaign’ to
clean up the English River

into which the Dryden Pulp.

and Paper factory has been
pouring mercury for the last
‘14 years...

The films brought by the
Japanese delegation will
show the story of Minimata,
Japan where Chisso Chem-
ical Company dumped mer-
cury into the water for 40
years before losing a law suit
and paying over $80 million

_ in damages to local victims.

According to Keesick the
story in Canada is one of
government indifference.
They got money,"* he said,

‘we got mercury.’’ Dryden
began discharging mercury
into the English-Wabigoon
watershed in 1962. In 1972,
ten years Inter, the Ontario
government began, studying

the effects by feeding fish.

from the area to cats. The
cats. died. The Ontario
government issued a state-:
ment the following year:
The fish may be harmful if
caten,"’

. ‘irresponsible,

“a “

- When two Japanese scien-
tists, Drs. Mianoto and
Harada, visited Canada last
year they spoke of local
government officials as being

Tom Keestck, former chief of.
Grassy Narrows Reserve will
speak at Capilano College.

indifferent,
and they know nothing about
mercury.’ Leo Bernier, min-
ister of Natural Resources in
Ontario called the Japanese
scientists ‘‘a bunch = of
travelling troubadours.”’

When the ‘troubadours”’
visit Capilano College next
week they will be here to

‘help Canadians avoid the

disaster of Minimata where it .
took twenty years for the
pollution to be stopped after
the first’ case of mercury:
‘poisoning was discovered.

Last week federal ‘health
minister Mare Lalond said
that Canadians should not be
alarmed because mercury’
poisoning cases in Ontario
were ‘‘isolated —cases."’
Hardly isolated, the’ lower
mainland is surrounded.
Both Howe Sound and: the
Fraser River show danger-
ously high mercury levels. .
Parts of Howe Sound have
been closed due to mercury
discharges, from the chlorine
producing plant in Squa-
mish.

.

. The show . at Capilano’
College ‘will take place on
Tuesday March 2nd, at 12:30
to 3:30. There will also be.
showings at the *Indian.
Centre, 1855 Vine St., in
Kitsilano on March 3rd and
4th at 7:30 p.m. Photog-
rapher Eugene: Smith will
attend those meetings.

Co

+ , , ‘
Ene Ren en CC eT emer See te: ke tar to a re

_couver.

_ F MALOING — HAIRCUT & BLOW “ae

Aileen ‘and Eugene
Smith brought the story
of Minimata to the west
through their photo-
graphs and. writings.
They will take part in
the meetings in Van-

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