Government skipped methylmercury deadline then offered 'hush money,' says Nunatsiavut president

The president of the Nunatsiavutgovernment says the provincial government deliberately delayed the decision to start wetland capping so there wouldn't be time left to do it and then offered "hush money" when word got out.

The capping work was aimed at reducing the threat of methylmercuryfrom flooding at Muskrat Falls.

Lampesays government has betrayedIndigenous people living downstream from the project who could be at risk from increased exposure.

"[The] government of Newfoundland and Labrador has prioritized its point of view, disregarded independent peer-reviewed science and placed the health and wellbeing of Labrador Inuit at risk," he said in a statement on Thursday.

"The time bomb is ticking on the future of those who depend on the Churchill River and Lake Melville for sustenance, and on the health, culture and way of life of many Labrador Inuit."

His remarks come a day after Nalcor Energy announced flooding had begun,despite Lampe'spleas to to hold off.

When the Muskrat Falls reservoir is flooded, surrounding trees and vegetation will be submerged. They'll decompose and release methylmercuryinto the ecosystem, so fish and animals commonly hunted for food in the area will likely have higher levels of the toxic compound, too.

The science is divided on just how much of a threat the heightened amounts will pose.

Government set aside $30 million for wetland capping, which would reduce those levels, but didn't start the work soon enough before flooding began.

Premier Dwight Ball says that wasn't on purpose.

"Due to an unintentional oversight, wetland capping was no longer an option," he said in a statement emailed toCBCNews Friday evening.

Government offered 'hush money'

Government has since split that $30 million three ways and offered it to Labrador's three Indigenous groups to go toward social and health programs.

Lampe saidNalcor CEO Stan Marshall came to him in July, offering the money as part of an agreementto fund health and social programs for the Labrador Inuit.

"We did not sign that agreement," Lampe said.

"We advised Mr. Marshall, as well as the premier, that offering Labrador's three Indigenous groups a share of this $30 million would be perceived as a form of compensation, or 'hush money.' We remain adamant this money should have been used for what it was intended to cap wetlands."

Ball did not address that claim in his statement. Instead, he pointed to a growing body of research suggestingthat, whilemethylmercurylevels will rise, the increase will not force most people to change their diets.

That research, mostly carried out byRyan Calder, who was part of the 2016 study that initially identified possible risks and said methylmercury levels would likely double.

"Calder stated that they didn't find any evidence that would suggest that people would be faced with medical issues as a result of methylmercury increases and that even if they did double, the levels would still be considered safe by Health Canada," Ball said.

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