Arsenic in lake sediment has Ndilo residents concerned about swimming safety – CBC North

March 30, 2016

For decades, residents living in Ndilo, N.W.T., have had concerns about possible arsenic contamination in and around their community from nearby Giant Mine.

During a community update on the Giant Mine Remediation project earlier this month, a seven-year-old boy asked the panel if it was safe to go swimming in the water around the community.

The federal representative from Indigenous and Northern Affairs passed on answering the question and referred it over to an N.W.T. Environment and Natural Resources official, who told the boy “I can’t answer that question.”

Responses like that that have William Lines, community liaison and technical advisor with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, wondering if the territorial government is taking this issue seriously.