LOCATION: Fort Chipewyan, Alberta
Issue/Source: Concerns raised regarding the management of the site for the
purposes of supporting emergency evacuation, and the disclosure of the presence
of contamination at the port facility.
Date: May 2025
Suggested Responses
- Transport Canada is working in close collaboration with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation (collectively “the Nations”) to address the contamination at the Fort Chipewyan Port Facility.
- Transport Canada is providing capacity funding to support community engagement, as well as the Nations’ input and involvement in the development of environmental remediation plans.
- In collaboration with Indigenous Services Canada, Transport Canada is also providing funding for the construction of a temporary dock, which will support emergency egress from the community in the event of wildfires and ensure that critical economic activity continues during the spring, summer, and fall months.
- Transport Canada will continue to collaborate with the Nations regarding the longer-term management of the Port Facility.
IF PRESSED
- In 2017, an environmental site assessment and a related human health and ecological risk assessment concluded that the contamination at the Fort Chipewyan Port Facility is not likely to pose any risks to human health or the environment.
- Currently, there is no information to suggest that this assessment is not still valid. Notably, contaminated sediment is not uncommon at port facilities across the country – it typically poses little to no risk if it remains undisturbed.
- Transport Canada is also engaging the Nations and federal, provincial and municipal partners regarding emergency evacuation plans.
- The responsibility for community evacuation is shared among the Nations, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, the Province of Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Indigenous Services Canada.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- Transport Canada owns a public port facility on Lake Athabasca in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. While the facility is no longer used for commercial transportation purposes, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN), and Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation (FCMN) (collectively “the Nations”) use the site to launch small pleasure crafts and to berth two barges.
- In May 2024, Delta Contracting Ltd, representing the ACFN contacted Transport Canada officials to discuss possible dredging to allow for emergency evacuation in case of wildfires. Given the nature of the issue, Transport Canada referred the Nations to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) due to its lead role with respect to emergency management.
- In addition, as part of these discussions, Trasport Canada provided a copy of the most recent environmental studies for the site to Delta Contracting Ltd in May 2024. The 2017 Environmental Phase III Site Assessment and the Human Health Preliminary Quantitative Risk Assessment & Ecological Risk Assessment, which were previously shared with the MCFN in 2018, the studies concluded that the port did not pose human health risks from swimming, boat launching, or other recreational activities. Previous environmental studies had also been shared with the MCFN and FCMN in 2016. The presence of contamination at the site has been disclosed publicly through the Federal Contaminated Sites inventory since 2014.
- On August 23, 2024, the Nations wrote to the previous Minister of Transport to express concerns about the management of the site and the disclosure of the presence of contamination in the uplands and waterlot, requesting that:
- Transport Canada provide funding for the construction of a temporary dock to support emergency evacuation of the communities;
- Transport Canada provide funding to support the participation of the Nations in activities to address the contamination at the facility; and
- Transport Canada develop a long-term management plan for the contamination at the port facility to support community use.
- On December 5, 2024, the previous Minister of Transport attended the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to discuss the contamination at the Fort Chipewyan port facility. Transport Canada underscored its commitment to managing its sites responsibly and working collaboratively with the Nations on next steps to address the contamination at the facility.
- Since January 2025, Transport Canada officials are collaborating with the representatives of the Nations to address the above-noted issues. In collaboration with ISC, funding was provided to the Nations for the construction of a temporary dock on MCFN lands in March 2025.
- Contribution capacity funding from Transport Canada’s Indigenous Participant Funding Program will also be provided in 2025-26. This will allow the Nations to hire technical experts to conduct a review of environmental assessment reports, identify gaps, and understanding risks for future environmental work.