Indigenous leaders in northern Alberta report progress with contaminated dock site

Dennis Kovtun · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Government backing has been secured for a impermanent dock successful a bluish Alberta assemblage that made headlines past twelvemonth aft Indigenous leaders raised concerns about contamination astatine a federally owned dock site.  

Last fall, 3 Indigenous groups accused the national authorities of keeping them successful the acheronian astir chemic contamination astatine a Transport Canada-owned site, known locally arsenic Big Dock, successful Fort Chipewyan.

Now, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and Fort Chipewyan Métis, say the national authorities made advancement connected the contented of cleaning up the site, and besides providing the assemblage with a method of evacuating by watercraft. 

"Since October, we managed to enactment alongside with Transport Canada and we secured backing to remediate the dock due to the fact that of the contaminants that were there," said Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam successful an interrogation with CBC. 

Adam said the dock is important to the section assemblage arsenic a means of evacuation during emergencies, and besides for swimming, fishing, hunting and harvesting. 

The assemblage became alert that the installation had been contaminated with assorted compounds, including hydrocarbons and assorted metals, aft learning astir a 2017 study that outlined the contaminants recovered successful the ungraded adjacent the dock on Lake Athabasca. 

If everything goes according to plan, according to the update published connected Mikisew Cree First Nation's Facebook page, the cleanup of the tract could hap successful summertime 2026.

Adam said the tract could perchance beryllium remediated successful a mode to marque sure that the sediment is not disturbed, and the dock relocated. 

"It's contained successful that way," Adam said. 

"But it's unfortunate it had to happen," helium added. 

Temporary dock

The assemblage will get a impermanent dock this year, with operation expected to beryllium completed in July. 

In an email to CBC, Transport Canada states that "the authorities of Canada is providing capableness backing to enactment the Nations' input and engagement successful the operation of a impermanent dock, arsenic good arsenic backing to enactment the construction."

The impermanent dock successful Fort Chipewyan volition beryllium located astatine the extremity of Mackenzie Avenue, wherever it meets Slave River. 

Adam said the impermanent dock is intended chiefly arsenic a vessel motorboat site. 

"It'd beryllium hard to aquatics determination due to the fact that it's successful a stream and the h2o is swift." 

He said the caller dock volition bash for present and making definite everyone has harmless entree to the vessel motorboat is simply a priority.

"We were evacuated erstwhile and to spot it happening again, if that would beryllium the case, we request someplace to motorboat our boats, and beryllium mindful of the information that erstwhile you commencement launching your boats, there's going to beryllium aggregate trucks and trailers down there." 

Last year, Adam expressed his vexation with the national government, saying that the feds weren't forthcoming with accusation astir the contaminated dock. 

Things person changed since then, helium said. 

"Everything improved successful that matter. We each came down to it and we agreed to hole the occupation alternatively of conscionable leaving it unattended due to the fact that of the magnitude of usage that it gets connected a seasonal basis." 

Both the impermanent dock and the Big Dock volition proceed to beryllium owned by Transport Canada.