When your community becomes a toxic waste dump...

The Big Story

It's expensive to follow complex disposal protocols for construction waste that can often contain toxins. It's a lot less expensive to find someone willing or desperate enough to simply allow waste to be dumped directly onto their land, with no regard for the health and environmental impacts.

An Indigenous community in Kanasatake has dealt with this problem for years. Until some community members banded together, at personal risk, to get the story out there and force the government to take action. This week, the government finally did.

GUEST: Chris Curtis, investigative journalist, co-founder of The Rover

(NOTE: Nexus, a company named by reporters covering this story, has denied their role in a comment to La Presse: The company says it is only responsible for the soil transportation component and assures that it "has not at any time dumped soil into the Ottawa River." It assures that it "maintains a buffer strip between the natural environments and the deposit site" and reiterates that its "commitment to environmental protection remains unwavering”)

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [e-mail]

Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemail

Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter