c. December 3, 2024

December 3, 2024

Chief Allan Adam
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation

President Kendrick Cardinal Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation

Chief Billy Joe Tucarro Mikisew Cree First Nation

c/o Jay Telegdi
Senior Manager Intergovernmental Affairs Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
jay.telegdi@acfn.com

Dear Chief Adam, President Cardinal, and Chief Tucarro:

I am writing to follow up on my call with yourselves and other representatives of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation, and the Mikisew Cree First Nation on November 6, 2024, and on your correspondence of August 23, 2024, regarding the Transport Canada dock in Fort Chipewyan.

To start, I would like to thank you for your commitment and for bringing your concerns to me. I would like to reaffirm to you my personal commitment and assurance that Transport Canada will work collaboratively and meaningfully with your respective Nations to address the very serious concerns you put forward.

Since our call, my officials have been able to confirm that environmental reports that describe and address the contamination in greater detail have been previously shared with the Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis Local 125 in the context of interest expressed in acquiring the port facility at Fort Chipewyan. I understand that the 2013 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and 2014 Limited Phase II Environmental Site Assessment reports were made available to the Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis Local 125 in 2016. The 2017 Phase III Environmental Site Assessment, 2017 Human Health Preliminary Quantitative Risk Assessment & Ecological Risk Assessment, and 2017 Remedial Options Analysis and Remedial Costs reports were subsequently shared with the Mikisew Cree First Nation in 2018. Nevertheless, I have instructed my officials that, going forward, information will be shared with your communities on a more proactive and transparent basis.

I did want to note that the studies previously undertaken at the site have not identified any risks to human health or the environment, and my department has had no indication that these circumstances have changed. The contamination identified at this site is typical of what can be found at commercial port facilities across the country and notably where a wharf is constructed with creosote- treated lumber and the property is used for fuel transfer/distribution. That said, I understand your desire for additional analysis to be conducted and additional actions to be taken in order to ensure that the contamination is being addressed in a manner that does not pose risks for your communities.

I want to reiterate my commitment that Transport Canada will work collaboratively with you to undertake the work required to address your concerns. This includes working closely with your Nations on the next steps for environmental studies under the guiding principles of open, transparent communication.

I want to highlight the actions we have committed to as a department and are undertaking:

• In response to the concerns you have raised, we have taken immediate steps and retained a qualified third-party environmental management professional through Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). The intention is for the consultant to work with you to review and update the environmental studies to inform the path forward for remediation or risk management of the contamination found in both the uplands and waterlot portions of the Transport Canada- owned port facility at Fort Chipewyan.
• From our conversations to date, we better understand your Nations' perspectives and interest in playing an active role in this work. We would like to engage with you as soon as possible to discuss scoping of these studies and the work plan and timelines. We want to ensure that traditional knowledge and traditional use information is meaningfully gathered, considered, and incorporated into the studies.
• We understand that Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation, and Mikisew Cree First Nation will require capacity funds to support your Nations' ability to meaningfully participate in this work. We commit to providing sufficient funding to support your Nations' participation. My officials will follow up with more information on how to access these funds.
• We intend to commence field work as early as spring 2025, once the snow and ice has melted
• We are engaging departments including PSPC, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Health Canada (HC), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), to provide technical advice to addressing contamination at the facility.

More detailed information, including responses related to the concerns raised in your letter dated August 23, 2024, can be found attached.

As a next step, I have identified Shari Currie, Transport Canada's Regional Director General – Prairie and Northern Region, as the best point person to lead this work moving forward. She has just recently had an introductory meeting with representatives of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation, and the Mikisew Cree First Nation, and will be the best point of contact moving forward to discuss the process for implementing these commitments and to schedule a visit to your communities

On my end, I will continue to work with my colleagues at PSPC, ECCC, DFO, and HC to ensure this work progresses in a timely manner, and I remain available as needed. I encourage you to remain in contact with Sarah from my office.
Thank you again for writing to bring this important matter to my attention. Yours sincerely,

The Honourable Anita Anand, P.C., M.P.
President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Transport Attachment

Attachment

Attachment

Contamination Concerns:

• Transport Canada has previously disclosed the presence of contamination at the Fort Chipewyan port facility. The facility has been listed on the publicly accessible Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory (FCSI) website since 2014. The facility is listed as an active site with identifier number 00026077 and can be found here (https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/fcsi-rscf/fsi-isf/00026077-eng.aspx). Site 00015462 referenced in your incoming letter is a separate site under the administration of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

• The contamination at the facility consists of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals in the soil in the uplands portion of the site, and PAHs and metals in the sediment in the waterlot portion of the site.

• Contaminated sediment is low risk if undisturbed and is therefore not typically remediated unless it needs to be disturbed.

Health and Environmental Concerns:

• Investigations have been conducted periodically at the facility since 1997 in accordance with the Federal approach to contaminated sites and environmental site assessment industry standards. At no point to date has any risk to human health or the environment been identified.

• In 2017, Transport Canada commissioned a Phase III Environmental Site Assessment and a Human Health Preliminary Quantitative Risk Assessment & Ecological Risk Assessment (Risk Assessment) for the facility. These assessments covered the uplands and waterlot owned by Transport Canada, a combined area of approximately 6 hectares. The Phase III Environmental Site Assessment and Risk Assessment were completed by a qualified environmental professional, with appropriate certifications, and following guidance published by Health Canada and the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan.

• The Risk Assessment was conducted to determine if human health and/or ecological risks exist as a result of exposure to pollutants in soil, sediment, and groundwater. The report also recommended next steps for risk mitigation. The land use was evaluated against commercial environmental standards and considered recreational activities such as fishing and swimming in the area. The study considered contaminants of potential concern, including hydrocarbons (PAHs and PHCs), and various metals (including arsenic, nickel, and chromium).

• The Risk Assessment concluded that the facility did not pose risks to human health from swimming, boat launching, ingestion of country foods (fish and wildlife), or recreational activities. This was primarily due to the levels of contamination being relatively low, and the small size of the facility relative to the habitat of the fish in Lake Athabasca which would limit uptake of contaminants present at the site.

• The Risk Assessment noted potential risk to humans from groundwater. Transport Canada viewed this risk as very low because groundwater is expected to flow south toward Lake Athabasca, which means groundwater from our facility would move toward the Lake rather than upstream wells. Additionally, there are no groundwater wells at the facility and there are no properties between the facility and Lake Athabasca. Transport Canada conducted a search of the Alberta Water Well Information Database which confirmed that there were no wells in the immediate vicinity of the facility.

• The Risk Assessment concluded that there were no likely adverse risks to wildlife. The study did note that a detailed quantitative aquatic risk assessment, including toxicity testing and/ or benthic community assessment, could be an option to evaluate whether contaminated sediments or groundwater has an effect on the aquatic ecosystem. The quantitative aquatic risk assessment was not pursued given the low level of risk identified in the Risk Assessment.

• Overall, the environmental site assessment and the Risk Assessment conducted in 2017 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.

• Based on the outcome of the Risk Assessment and conclusion that the facility was not likely to pose any risks to human health, Transport Canada did not communicate the results directly to your Nations or the broader community at the time. We now better understand and regret the concern that this caused. Transport Canada is committed to working with Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation regarding preferred protocols for information sharing in the future to ensure this is not repeated. Going forward, Transport Canada also commits to working with the nations to ensure that traditional uses and knowledge are identified and considered in any future work at the facility.

Evacuation:

• A request for emergency dredging was made in May 2024, in the context of the potential use of the TC-owned port facility to support emergency evacuations. The Transport Canada dock is one of two boat launches identified on the

  Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s Community Emergency Management Plan. This past summer, Transport Canada reached out to Indigenous Services Canada – Emergency Preparedness and they advised us that contingency plans had been developed and approved for emergency evacuation if the airport at Fort Chipewyan is unavailable, and that these contingency plans do not rely exclusively on the Transport Canada facility. As the RCMP and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo are responsible for the physical evacuation of the community, questions relating to evacuations should be referred to one of these organizations.

Site Status:

• An inspection into the condition of the facility was recently concluded on October 4, 2024, and the report from this inspection is scheduled to be completed by January 1, 2025. Transport Canada will share the final report with the nations when it is available, though at this time we can share that the consultant reported that the facility is in fair to good condition and there were no issues identified requiring immediate attention. Transport Canada commits to working with the nations and providing early notifications if future work is performed.

• As you are aware, the facility is available for divestiture under the Ports Asset Transfer Program; this remains an important longer-term objective for Transport Canada as experience across the country has shown that locally-based ownership may better ensure local port facilities operate to the benefit of their home communities. Transport Canada has a mandate to operate local port facilities for commercial use; this mandate does not extend to other uses including support for fishing and recreational use.

• There has been interest expressed from a local private enterprise in acquiring the facility and they have conducted some due diligence activities. They have sought to engage your communities and the Regional District to ensure broad-based support for a potential acquisition. Transport Canada would also support a scenario where the facility was divested to a partnership among multiple local entities.

• Under the Ports Asset Transfer Program, a divestiture payment from Transport Canada is included in recognition of estimated future costs to operate and maintain the facility, including the costs of managing environmental contamination, where applicable.