Meeting on Muskrat Falls mercury dispute to go ahead without Nunatsiavut - Action News
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Meeting on Muskrat Falls mercury dispute to go ahead without Nunatsiavut

A meeting to discuss the environmental impacts a proposed dam will have on Lake Melville is going ahead, without participation from the Nunatsiavut government.

Environment and Conservation Minister Perry Trimper hopes Inuit government will reconsider

According to a study by a team from Harvard University, the Muskrat Falls project is having an adverse effect on methyl mercury levels in Lake Melville. (CBC)

A meeting to discuss the environmental impacts a proposed dam will have on Lake Melville is going ahead, without participation from the Nunatsiavut government.

Environment and Conservation Minister PerryTrimpertold CBC Radio'sLabrador Morningthat he wasn't surprised byNunatsiavut'sdecision, but said he's disappointed.

"We are going ahead with the workshop," saidTrimper, who is also the MHA for LakeMelville.

"They won't be there physically but their information will be there.The door will still be open to them and I still hope that they will show."

Experts from Nalcor, the Nunatsiavut Government and Harvard University had been askedtomeet at the end of the month to discuss research on the impact the Muskrat Falls dam would have on methyl mercury levels.

The Minister of Environment and Conservation, Perry Trimper, hopes the Nunatsiavut government will change its mind and attend next week's workshop. (Sherry Vivian/CBC)

Nalcordisagrees with researchsuggestingmercury levels in the lake could rise anywhere from 25 to 200 per cent as a result offlooding.

Trimper said the objective of the workshop isn't to negotiate science, but to present all information to parties who haven'tattended previous meetings.

Increasing methyl mercury levels in Lake Melville could affect foods such as fish and seal, both of which are eaten by people in Labrador. (CBC)

"How the methyl mercury that will occur when the flooding happens at Muskrat Falls, how that will manifest itself to future levels in the food chain, that's where the debate is," Trimper said.

"I must say, the Harvard researcher that we spoke with the other day ... absolutely top notch. There's no question in her capabilities. That said, still, there are some aspects of the calculations, that's what we'd like to explore."

The workshop, which isscheduled to place in St. John's on Tuesday, will be moderated by theOffice of Public Engagement will moderate the event.

Representatives from the provincial departments ofEnvironment and Conservation andHealth and Community Services will attend, in addition to representatives from Health Canadaand Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Trimper said he will consult with the Nunatsiavut government before making his final decision, if he has any questions.

With files from Labrador Morning