Aamjiwnaang officials take chemical-reduction fight to Queen’s Park

Aamjiwnaang no longer wants to be known as a victim of Sarnia’s Chemical Valley, the First Nation’s chief said Thursday during a news conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto.

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“We’ll be known for our environmental leadership,” Janelle Nahmabin said.

Officials there declared a local state of emergency in April due to what it said were ongoing and excessive discharges of benzene from Ineos Styrolution, a nearby chemical plant, causing community members to fall ill. Benzene, a byproduct of processes at several Sarnia-area facilities which can cause short- and long-term health problems from exposure, was being brought to the plant, where it was used to produce styrene monomer.

Two months later, amid economic difficulties tied to suspensions and orders from the provincial government, Ineos officials said its Sarnia site will close permanently by June 2026.

Nahmabin said Thursday that situation – the plant recently confirmed it will not restart operations in ’26 – caught the public’s eye. But she and other Aamjiwnaang officials who spoke at the presser said this was just the latest incident amid a century of industrial pollution and environmental racism and injustice.

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Along with benzene, sulfur dioxide – a chemical that can be released from acid gas flaring at oil refineries that can cause health issues – is also a concern, they said. Scott Grant, an air pollution control engineer from Toronto who has worked with Aamjiwnaang for years, said Thursday emissions standards Sarnia plants followed were set in the 1980s, which are out of date and too high based on more current science.

Grant said they want permitted thresholds there aligned with other organizations and regulations such as the World Health Organization and Ontario’s air quality standards. This would force Chemical Valley industries to cut back production until emissions reach these lower levels, he said.

Grant added they’ve had these conversations with government officials for years, but it’s been a game of pass-the-buck and nothing gets done.

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Nahmabin said after having their constitutional rights linked to their land and health stepped on for decades, they want to be able to work together with government officials to address those rights.

In a statement released Thursday, Aamjiwnaang, a community of 2,500 that has about 900 living on the reserve in south Sarnia, asked the provincial government to:

• Update Regulation 350 of the Lambton Industrial Meteorological Alert to address the cumulative impacts and the harms and injustices of sulfur dioxide emissions.
• Take action on the problems identified by the Sarnia Area Environmental Health Project, which was led by Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
• Conduct necessary technical reviews to ensure the best available air pollution control is applied to key sources of pollution.
• Comprehensive follow-up investigations be required to assess impacts of past contamination, including cumulative impacts.
• Review and assess the need for improved oversight of industry process safety management practices.

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A spokesperson with the Environment Ministry said they continue to meet with Aamjiwnaang officials on a regular basis as they work to improve air quality in the Sarnia area.

“Earlier this year, we acted quickly to address elevated levels of benzene in the community and have also introduced new regulations that will result in a significant reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions by 2028,” they added.

Nahmabin said Thursday the government took a paternal-type role in how it handled the Ineos situation.

She also clarified they don’t want to shut down Chemical Valley, as they have some members who work there, they just want to reduce pollution and contamination on the reserve.

Aamjiwnaang officials said they also were hosting a rally Thursday in Toronto to draw attention to the issue.

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