Sabrina M. Chiefari is a Catholic Environmental Educator from Tkaronto/Toronto. As Integral Ecology Specialist for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, she is a long-time proponent of Deep Ecology and Integral Ecology.

Grassy Narrows Rally: “Land Alliance”, a historic coalition of five First Nations formed earlier this year, held a rally in front of the Ontario Legislature on July 20, 2023. The main issue: Ontario’s current mining exploration practices and its visceral impact on Indigenous communities. The following is a reflection from Creation Care Animator, Sabrina Chiefari, who attended.

Water as a human right

One of the most memorable stories shared at the rally was by a member of the Grassy Narrows community, who spoke of no longer being able to fish in the local waters; the multiple miscarriages he and his wife experienced when trying to start a family; a friend who died in childhood due to elevated levels of mercury in his system reacting to over-the-counter children’s vitamins.

While this was not the first time I’ve heard of such things being shared, it was angering because it is still happening. His was not a story of 30-40 years ago, but within the last 15 years.

The fact that Grassy Narrows still faces these life-threatening conditions, 50 years after the source of mercury poisoning was decommissioned, is horrifying.

The community is sick, and is still dealing with remediation and healing processes. So why the rally? Members of these First Nations (Grassy Narrows, Wapekeka, Neskantaga and Big Trout Lake First Nations) are defending themselves, the land, and the waters, from exploratory mining projects by the Provincial government.

While the Government of Ontario maintains that they have been consulting with local Indigenous communities all throughout, those at the rally pointedly asked:

“How can we be consulted when we’ve been trying to heal?”, “How could we consider these requests during COVID, when we were aggressively keeping isolated so as to protect Elders and those most vulnerable?”, and “How can they say they’ve consulted when I, a Leader in the community, am constantly denied meetings with Provincial representatives?”.

It would seem as though there’s quite the gap between what First Nations in Northern Ontario are saying vs. what Settler Ontarians are hearing from their government.

Water as a sacred gift

I had not expected the rally to begin with an Elder leading “The Lord’s Prayer”. I cannot say whether everyone gathered there appreciated it, but I found it a good way to begin the rally, even more so now looking back. As a reflection, how would it feel if the prayer were “Give us this day, our daily waters…” instead?

During the rally, listening over and over to stories of water becoming scarce, fouled by industry, and a source of poison for too many Indigenous peoples in Ontario, coming back to “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” was poignant.

Water as a shared commons

If we understand that water is intrinsically a vital right for all life, then we must also understand our shared responsibility to advocate for justice and against privatization.

The Grassy Narrows rally hoped to impart, outside the legislature in July, that colonial, capital-driven extraction models not only further impoverish Indigenous peoples, but also deny Indigenous and other remote communities access to daily supplies of water.

Whether by damming a river or fouling a supply source, the status quo of extraction has not served anyone other than corporate profits. We must all share in the work to demand justice now and better for the future.

On September 27th, thousands of people joined Land Alliance at Queen’s Park again, this time for a march. You can learn more at the Free Grassy website.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto are a Blue Community, committed to to protecting water as a human right, shared commons, and sacred gift.