Oka residents preparing checkpoint operations to stop illegal dumping in Kanesatake [Video]

Residents in Oka, Que. are preparing to take matters into their own hands to try to prvent the illegal dumping of contaminated material in the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) community of Kanesatake.

On Sunday, a simulated roadside checkpoint was set up as a training exercise to teach resident activists how to stop heavy trucks.

“We were talking about 200 or 300 trucks a day in April, coming here in Oka to dump, toxic materials in the lake,” said Oka/Kanesatake Reconcili-Action activist Julie Trembley-Cloutier.

About 1 million people rely on the Lake of Two Mountains for clean drinking water, and many in the region are concerned that after decades of illegal dumping, contaminants may be seeping into the water supply.

“We need more tests about the underground water in the area here because there are so many years there’s contamination on the ground,” said Eau Secour executive director Rebecca Petrin.

Last week, Quebec announced an action plan that includes fines of up to $6 millionfor companies caught …