Asbestos Civil Investigation Final Report Executive Summary released to the public

12/10/2021

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to inform the community that the Executive Summary of the Asbestos Civil Investigation final report has been released to the public. The Executive Summary can be found online at www.kahnawake.com/aci.

The independent investigation into deposits of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in landfill soils, conducted by Deloitte Forensics Inc., began in May of this year, with the final report formally accepted by the Ratitsénhaienhs on November 15th.

The Executive Summary provides a Chronology of Events; MCK Laws, Policies & Procedures; ‘Who knew what when;’ Root Cause Analysis; Recommendations; and Conclusions.

“From the outset, the goal of the investigation has been for the MCK to use the information gathered to act appropriately in applying corrective measures to ensure this type of problem doesn’t happen again,” said Ratsénhaienhs Cody Diabo, who is the lead on this issue. “We cannot downplay the concern and distress this issue has caused. For the past couple of years we have worked diligently to address affected soils where ACM has been detected. We are continuing to work to ensure our community’s health and safety.”

The key recommendations include the following areas of improvement:

• An assessment of legislation to ensure the highest possible standards are applied;
• Ensuring that policies and procedures are not ambiguous, or open to individual interpretation, and are followed;
• Ensuring employees are trained, understand policies, and agree to abide by them;
• MCK should come to an agreement on the differences between asbestos-containing pipe and ACM in a hazardous material policy, and that all units agree to abide by the handling procedures;
• Ensuring that employees have a method to report work concerns, and
• Ensuring that all MCK units are collaborating to deal with matters affecting the community in a timely manner

“The report has raised several systemic issues within the organization,” said Executive Director Onerahtókha (Karlie) Marquis. “I am committed to addressing the matters that have been flagged so that we resolve this situation and prevent anything similar in the future. This is a very complicated matter and it will take time to develop and implement a meaningful plan. This will remain one of my main priorities moving forward.”

Moving forward, a detailed action plan on addressing the recommendations outlined in the report will be developed. Any questions or concerns on this issue should be sent to aci@mck.ca.