Low water levels on the Athabasca River in Fort Chipewyan this Spring revealed more than community leaders had bargained for.
“Fort Chipewyan is an isolated community with no permanent road, at the same time we had three wildfires burning within two kilometres from the airport,” said Chief Allan Adam, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.
“We were worried that we would have no escape from the community so we applied to Transport Canada to dredge the dock and they refused but they didn’t tell us why,” Adam added.
As the community began an application to dredge it themselves – the chief said a report about the town’s dock was “leaked” to him.
“We found out that since 2017 Transport Canada has been aware that a dock, that is in the heart of Fort Chipewyan, was contaminated with cancer-causing substances,” said Adam.