A fly fisherman casts on the Kootenai River, downstream of the Koocanusa Reservoir at the centre of the dispute, near the Montana-Idaho border and Leonia, Idaho, on Sept. 19, 2014. U.S. Indigenous leaders say they aren’t about to stop pushing Canada to agree to a bilateral investigation into toxing mining runoff from B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP - The Spokesman Review, Rich Landers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Indigenous leaders say they aren’t about to stop pushing Canada to agree to a bilateral investigation into toxic mining runoff from British Columbia.
Representatives from several Indigenous groups from the U.S. Pacific Northwest were in D.C. this week for meetings with White House officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to pursue a tentative agreement by this summer to address water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed, which extends from B.C. through several U.S. states.
But last week’s meetings in Ottawa stopped short of what conservationists and Indigenous leaders want: a full bilateral investigation under the terms of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty.
Gary Aitken Jr., vice-president of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, says while the agreement is a sign of progress, he’ll keep pushing for an investigation, known as a joint reference.
Aitken says U.S. officials, including in the State Department, pledged to support their efforts to convince Canada to agree to a joint reference.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2023.
