Author: Paul Graif

There will be controlled blasting at the Kahnawà:ke Multi-Purpose Building worksite beginning today and lasting through Friday. It will be performed by Enterprises QMD Inc. and The National. A rock blast cover will be used to suppress debris and noise, a warning sound will be issued prior to blasting, and seismographs will be in place to monitor vibrations in neighboring buildings. Fencing has been installed around the site.

In a Facebook Live broadcast on Kahnawake 911, and carried live on K1037,  the oil spill crisis response team updated the community on the progress that has been made in handling the effects of the spill in Kahnawake.  Grand Chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer spoke of political meetings that were held at the end of the week with  the Provincial environment officials and  the city of Chateauguay. She said those meetings had gone very well as had the walk throughs of various areas to plan  what the provinces next steps might be to lessen the impact on Kahnawake.

Also participating in the update Ben Green Stacey of KEPO. He had some good news in the fact that a calmer weather forecast for this weekend means less of an impact on the  situation by high waters in the river and creeks.

You can watch the update on Kahnawake 911 or the K1037 Facebook pages.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK), the Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office (KEPO), and Environmental Health Services (EHS) are holding an information session Monday night on the Industrial Oil spill. They have invited those who live on Zachary Road and all others who may be affected to the Kahnawà:ke Legion Branch 219 from 6-9 pm. If you are experiencing any issues call: EHS at 450-635-9945 regarding home water and air quality, and KEPO at 450-635-0600 for Environmental concerns on public or private lands.

A major water main break in Kahnawake Thursday morning. The main line on Route-132 across from Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) has been out since about 3:30 in the morning according to Kahnawake Public Works. Public Works has a repair crew working on the issue. They say it will take several hours to complete the repairs. KSS does not have water and is closed today. The building is open until 10 a.m. for staff to pick up work items.

The Kahnawake Peacekeepers executed a search warrant at a business in Kahnawake on the Old Chateauguay Road this morning. It was part of an operation led by the Montreal Police. They executed warrants at the same time in Montreal and Beuaharnois as they searched for illegal firearms. The Peacekeepers saying in a release that they did not seize any firearms at the business in Kahnawake when they searched it at 5 a.m.

There is a Boil Water Advisory in effect for Tioweró:ton. According to a release from the Lands Unit at the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK), there is an issue with the Well at the main entrance. A work crew will be on site on Thursday to try and repair the issue. In the meantime, it is advised to boil the water for five (5) minutes, at a full boil, if being used for consumption purposes. For further information, call the Lands Unit at 450-638-8244.

A 12 year old non-local girl drowned at the Old Bedard Quarry in Kahnawake yesterday afternoon. The Kahnawake Peacekeepers say a call was transferred via 9-1-1 to them at 5:22 pm Sunday. Peacekeepers located two other non-local 12 year-olds. They told officers that their friend jumped into the water from a cliff and did not resurface. Attempts were made by emergency responders to retrieve the victim. A Sûreté Du Quebec (SQ) dive team was called to assist with the recovery. In a statement the Peacekeepers wrote: “Out of respect to the family of the deceased, no other information will be released.”

Construction work in the Mayo Road area will start on Monday, June 19^th, weather permitting. The Capital Unit of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke Capital crews will be replacing the water and sewer mains. Upon completion of the water and sewer works, the road base will be reconstructed, and a new asphalt surface will be installed. Residents in the area may be inconvenienced by temporary loss of water, dust, and noise from trucks and equipment.

The Capital Unit is asking for patience throughout the project work and if any questions should arise, you are asked to contact the Technical Services Office at: 450-635-1016.

A Special Community Meeting on Housing will take place on Thursday, June 22^nd, at the Knights of Columbus Hall from 6pm to 8pm. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke highlighting the agenda items to include: The Housing Study Executive Summary; the Financial Reconciliation Plan Development; upcoming Financial Literacy Workshops; major development updates; Housing Unit restructuring; long-term planning; these items will then be followed by an open discussion.

For your questions, those are requested in advance to: feedback@mck.ca.

The Special Meeting will begin at 6pm.

The removal of Hydro Line 2 is officially complete and signed off by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. Lindsay Leborgne was in charge of the file at the MCK:

“They replanted trees, they planted grass, they removed soil around each tower, because of the contamination from the zinc coating on the towers over the years, it flaked off after 60 years being there, so, soil had to be removed, it was taken out of the territory. Fresh soil was brought back in. We had KEPO, our own environmental office, went checking the work and they were satisfiesd that everything was done according to the agreement that we struck with Hydro many years ago, now.”

Leborgne says that the process has taken over time:

“It’s been about 5 years, they removed every tower and base that they could except the 4 that were left at Irving Goodleaf’s property and that was negotiated. He didn’t want them removed. They negotiated with him to leave them there and the bases of the towers that were on the north wall of the Seaway, those were the large towers that were probably upwards of 300 ft high so the towers were extremely large and they were right on the riverside and there was a worry by Hydro  that if they started digging down, because those bases were quite big, that you could have a breach in the wall of the seaway through the river.”