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Oct. 25, 2005. 03:04 AM
Deadly E-coli threatens natives
2,000 need vaccinations immediately
Governments argue over responsibility
RICHARD BRENNAN AND ROBERT BENZIE
IN TORONTO
Nearly 2,000 people need to be immediately vaccinated for Hepatitis A
and B as a result of serious water contamination on their remote native
reserve in Northern Ontario.
Conditions at Kashechewan Reserve, a community of 1,900 on the shore of
James Bay, where the water is contaminated with deadly E-coli, are being
described as "Third World."
The community's water treatment plant was built by the federal
government 10 years ago, downstream from the reserve's sewage lagoons,
which are said to be contributing to the problem. The reserve has been
under boil-water orders, on and off, for about five years.
Ontario Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay, who is also responsible
for native affairs, spoke with federal Indian Affairs Minister Andy
Scott yesterday in an effort to address the crisis.
"We're prepared to act. It is a disgrace, there's no doubt about it,"
Ramsay said, stressing the province doesn't "have authority" to act
unilaterally.
Indians and the reserves they live on fall under federal jurisdiction,
although the province has taken responsibility for providing some
services in the past.
Ontario says water on reserves is a matter of federal jurisdiction, but
it has offered technical assistance on the water treatment plant and
would handle an evacuation if necessary.
The province has known about the water problems at Kashechewan since
2003, when the Ontario Clean Water Agency issued a report detailing
critical deficiencies in water treatment system.
That was three years after waterborne E-coli killed seven people in
Walkerton, a scandal that spawned a public inquiry.
"The province knew and did nothing" about the Kashechewan problems, said
Gilles Bisson, the New Democratic MPP for the provincial riding of
Timmins-James Bay. "In post-Walkerton, we would think that something
would have been done."
Ramsay defended his own government's failure to address the situation.
"The Ministry of the Environment over the last couple of years has been
working with this community and with the federal government in trying to
rectify this, so we have been working on it," he said.
Charlie Angus, the New Democratic MP for the federal riding of
Timmins-James Bay, joined Bisson at a Queen's Park news conference to
urge the province to take action.
"The fact is everybody knew the federal government would not help these
people ... and so I feel I have to ask, where was the province of
Ontario in the face of post-Walkerton?" Angus said.
"The province, when no one else intervened, should have come to these
people's (aid) and they chose not to act ... The provincial government
has played their role in a very, very damning and shameful chapter in
Ontario's history," he said.
Dr. Murray Trussler, chief of staff at Weeneebayko General Hospital in
Moose Factory, said hepatitis shots are needed now.
"We have no idea what viruses might be in the polluted water," Trussler
told reporters. "We need hepatitis A and B vaccine free for everyone in
this community."
As it is, Trussler said people are infected with scabies, a nasty
parasite, and impetigo, a bacterial skin infection characterized by
blisters that may itch.
Trussler said whoever decided to place a water intake downstream from a
sewage lagoon "obviously didn't know much about public health, and it's
a disgrace."
"The bottom line: We need new water and sewage treatment facility. The
existing one is totally unacceptable and totally beyond repair in my
opinion."
The reserve is afflicted with problems. The school is closed because
there is no drinking water. Children are being bathed in water laced
with potentially deadly bacteria that can also result in open sores. And
the unemployment rate is about 90 per cent.
"A lot of people are frustrated now," said Reserve Chief Leo Friday.
"Mad, angry and they just want something to be done on this water
treatment plate as soon as possible.
"Our schools are closed, our nursing station couldn't operate, and ...
it's hard to function because of this crisis in the community."
The federal government is providing the community with thousands of
litres of bottled water daily, but Friday said Kashechewan feels it has
no support "from any government."
Stan Louttit, grand chief for the Mushkegowuk, who is responsible for
the area, said the reserve is a victim of "jurisdictional haggling"
between the federal and provincial governments.
"We are talking about Third World conditions here in Ontario," he said.
"Potable water is the basic right of (every) human being in the world."
Yesterday, the crisis in Kashechewan reached the upper echelons of the
federal government when Prime Minister Paul Martin said he was "very
concerned" about the situation. "I certainly share the view that this is
very worrisome and that the government has got to act," he said.
Martin said he would meet this week with the Indian Affairs minister,
who paid a whirlwind visit to the isolated community last week.
Emergency repairs are continuing on the reserve's water treatment plant,
which has been the source of dirty water for a number of years.
A boil-water advisory has been in existence for the community since
2003, an Indian Affairs spokesperson said.
In the meantime, Ottawa has doubled the amount of bottled water it is
flying into Kashechewan — up to 1,500 18-litre bottles daily — after
complaints last week from residents that they were unable to properly
cook or bathe because of a water shortage.
Scott could not be reached for comment on the emergency yesterday. But
Premier Dalton McGuinty said Ontario is ready and willing to assist as
soon as Ottawa asks for its help.
Native elders are suggesting that water contamination on the low-lying
community are aggravated by flooding, and they say the best solution is
to abandon their homes and move to higher ground.
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