G&R Recyclage - Robert and Gary Gabriel revisited

The process for remediation of the fouled land has stalled and could remain that way for years given lack of governance.

Dysfunctional indian leadership is delaying the clean-up of Robert and Gary Gabriel's toxic dump at Kanesatake. A dispute between Council Grand Chief Victor Bonpsille and his sister Chief Valerie Bonspille, and four other chiefs in the Kanien'kehá:ka has delayed the transfer of the privately owned land back to the community so the cleanup can continue. Four chiefs: John Canatonquin, Brant Etienne, Amy Beauvais, and former grand chief Serge Otsi Simon banded together to support the Gabriels.

Former grand chief Serge Otsi Simon. Chief Denise David did not sign the dissident resolution.

By creating the toxic dump, and then being incapable of dealing with it, the Mohawk at Kanesatake are proving they are people who cannot govern themselves.

Contaminants were found in the water near a dump in Kanesatake 5 years ago. Opened in 2015 as a recycling center for industrial garbage, it has accumulated mountains of waste on a strip of Mohawk land. The Ministry of the Environment doesn't set foot there at the demand of Robert Gabriel. Firefighters were denied access to fight flameless fires that release smoke and foul odours. The water from the site is black. The wasteland is packed with 17 times the amount of waste it's permitted for. Reports confirm the presence of PCBs, E. coli and hydrogen sulfide.

Leaders of Kanesatake are demanding help in decontaminating the site. They detailed Kanesatake's failed attempts to get the federal or provincial governments to put a stop to illegal dumping on its land. Robert and Gary Gabriel are feared but not respected in their community.

Gary Gabriel

In 2020, the Ministry revoked the company's license and cracked down on truckers dumping loads. The traffic stopped, but the waste remains. The issue has been known for years but Quebec and Ottawa fear to tred on indigenous territories. Its thought it would cost $100m to clean up the site. Brothers Robert and Gary Gabriel were members of the Warriors during the 1990 Oka crisis. In 2005, they were convicted of forcible confinement and participation in a riot, after the house of Grand Chief James Gabriel and the local police station burned down. Robert Gabriel was the head of the 'very violent' organization.

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