The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to advise the community of a meeting held last Friday, February 6th, with representatives from the City of Sainte-Catherine, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Ministère de l’Environnement, public health officials, and various other government agencies. The meeting focused on assessing potential environmental and health impacts regarding Terrapure.
In addition, as reported in local media, on January 29th, a total of 65,000 liters of process water were released from Terrapure, with most of it contained within the facility. Of that amount, 10,000 liters exited the facility, and an estimated 1,000 liters entered the city’s storm drain. The spilled water was recovered by Terrapure.
These discussions and developments have confirmed the need for next steps in environmental monitoring and for coordinated communication that fully includes Kahnawà:ke. With this in mind, a joint working group committee between the City of Sainte‑Catherine and the MCK is being explored. As part of this collaboration, the Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office will provide Sainte‑Catherine with historical data related to the plant’s environmental impacts on Kahnawà:ke and the surrounding area.
“Establishing this committee is a vital step in ensuring that both Kahnawà:ke and Sainte‑Catherine have a clear and consistent understanding of what happened and how we move forward,” said Ratsénhaienhs Iohahí:io Delisle. “Our community deserves open communication as we pursue this spill and address different factors involved. Our top priority has been and always will be the health and safety of our people,” adds Ohén:ton í:rate ne Ratitsénhaienhs Cody Diabo.
In addition to this larger meeting, many other meetings with specific agencies and entities have been held as information continues to gather. An in‑person visit to the Terrapure site is also being scheduled for next week with members of the MCK.
Additionally, the MCK will host a special community discussion at the Golden Age Club on Sunday, February 22nd, to provide further updates and address concerns directly with community members. The meeting time will be announced in the days leading up to the discussion.
