Sherridon and Kississing Lake - eight years and little action so far by the NDP

A large tailings pile full of toxic mine wastes sits bare near Sherridon in northern Manitoba (Top photo). Sadly, after eight years of neglect by the present NDP government, the toxic metals continue to leach from this site and to flow out into Kississing Lake (Second and third photos). Naomi and I visited the community and met with people in the community on July 25 and 26.

It has been called one of the worst polluted sites in all of Canada, yet the NDP have done little more than make promises so far.

The sad part of this story is that the toxic metals leaching into Kississing Lake have destroyed the invertebrates living in the shallow waters along the shore of the lake for a distance of many kilometers - as has been carefully documented in research studies. Since these invertebrates are an important food source for ducks like Mergansers and Goldeneye, these ducks are no longer found in this part of Kississing Lake as they once were. (The bottom photo shows a rock in Kississing Lake some distance from the outlet where water comes from the tailings pile at Camp Lake showing how badly stained the rocks become as a result of the metals in the water).

It is urgent to stop the continued leaching of toxic metals into Kississing Lake and to begin the process of restoring the health of the affected areas. The people of the communities of Sherridon and nearby Cold Lake have been living with this problem nearby for years. Getting this attended to will help the communities in many ways - in quality of life, in economic development and the availability of jobs. It is time for action.