Get tough with Canada over cross-border mining contaminants, First Nations tell U.S.WASHINGTON — In a city of pinstripes and partisan power brokers, Mike Allison sticks out like a sore thumb. Instead, the Upper Similkameen Indian Band councillor is in a downtown D.C. boardroom, gearing up for a second day of meetings with State Department officials, bureaucrats, diplomats and members of Congress. But selenium levels are still too high, said Rich Janssen, head of the natural resources department with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana. Janssen wants to be clear: the Indigenous groups in Washington on this day are not trying to end mining in the B.C. But Canada needs to deal with the old mess before it starts a new one, said Robin Irwin, the head of Upper Similkameen's natural resources department.

Source: CBC News December 11, 2022 13:19 UTC