Yellowknives Dene air 'mistrust' of mine remediation projects at public meeting

Members of the Yellowknives Dene are raising concerns about the Tundra and Gordon Lake remediation projects northeast of Yellowknife, saying they have little faith the federal government will hire local peopleand properly identify risks.

On Tuesday, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) held a public meeting in Dettah to engage with the community and provide an update on the two projects.

Chief Ernest Betsina of N'dilo says at the meeting, people flagged issues about acid rock drainage, tailings ponds, and the effects of remediation on caribou. Betsina has little faith in the projects, citing the previous remediation failure that was discovered during an inspection of the Bullmooseand Ruth mines in May.

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"We have mistrust of the project. The project does not have a communication plan in place to notify future generations where the hazards and risk exist, say in 50 years," says Chief Betsina.

Chief Betsina is asking for in-house hiring and training opportunities for the Yellowknives Dene. He is also calling for site monitors to be hired from the community and deployed around the clock to inform the public of spills and shortcomings as remediation efforts proceed.

In 2014, Aboriginal Engineering and Tlicho Engineering and Environmental Services were unable to finish the cleanup of the Tundra mine site, prompting the need to hire a new contractor. INAC's Contamination and Remediation Division has recently hired contractor Nahanni Construction/Delta Engineering to handle remediation of the Tundra and Gordon Lake contaminated sites. The sites consist of ten mines in total.

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Based on an inspection report from June 16, 2017 obtained from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, the inspectors "did not note any major concerns" at the Tundra site. The inspectors did, however, spot hydrocarbon sheen in a large puddle and also found hydrocarbon stains from a spill, but site workers told inspectors they planned on treating the area once dried.

Remediation, includingtreating tailings-impacted water and consolidating tailings, isexpected to continue as planned. A report on water conditions is currently underway.

Inspections have not taken place at the nine abandoned Gordon Lake mines. Plans to remediate the contaminated areas by preventing acid and metal leakages, and disposing of waste will also move forward.

INACdid not respond to interview requests from CBC News.