The environmental arm of Det’on Cho are testing the soil at people’s houses on Ndilǫ to test arsenic levels.
The company, run by Yellowknives Dene First Nation, had started doing the sampling in the fall of 2020, but some residents’ properties weren’t sampled before the ground froze. Now the company is returning to those homes to sample them.
That’s set to happen around the end of July and the beginning of August. Residents who were sampled in 2020 will also get results back from their samples.
Arsenic in the soil is part of the long lasting legacy of Giant Mine. Remediation work recently started, the focus of which is freezing the 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide — a toxic substance — so that it can be contained underground and minimize contamination of the nearby lands.
YKDFN Dettah Chief Edward Sangris said he was concerned the potential for an upcoming federal election would continue to slow down and threaten to derail progress made towards compensation and an apology for YKDFN for Giant Mine.
“We have made more progress in the last six months on mending these historic wrongs than has been made in the last 70 years,” said Chief Edward Sangris. “However, we are growing concerned at the recent slowdown in momentum this summer.”
A pathwork to an apology and compensation had been agreed upon with the federal government in March after YKDFN met with the federal government several times, but Sangris said he is concerned about the future of that work.
The results from the sampling will be sent to Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
An information session will also be held in September for residents. Residents can also request to have their soil sampled if they think they missed being sampled ndiloengagement@hemmera.com or at (867) 988-1409 ext. 781
