Grassy Narrows chief wants Carney to apologize in person for comments about protester

By Canadian Press on April 3, 2026.

OTTAWA — The chief of Grassy Narrows First Nation is demanding an in person apology from Prime Minister Mark Carney after he said “I can outlast her” when a press conference he held in Toronto Monday was disrupted by mercury-poisoning protesters.

Chrissy Isaacs, a Grassy Narrows First Nation woman suffering from mercury poisoning, was in Toronto on Monday to demand compensation from the provincial government for mercury contamination in her community.

A media statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday said that Carney could not hear what the protesters were saying, and that Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is in contact with Grassy Narrows leadership.

Grassy Narrows Chief Sherry Ackabee says she wants to see Carney visit her community, and nearby Wabaseemoong, to apologize, discuss compensation for mercury poisoning and the shutdown of the Dryden Paper Mill.

The mill stopped using mercury in its industrial process in the 1970s, but mercury levels downstream from the plant haven’t decreased significantly since the 1980s.

It’s estimated that around 90 per cent of the Grassy Narrows population suffers from some degree of mercury poisoning.