An opinion piece co-written by U of G Prof. Faisal Moola and environmental activist and scientist David Suzuki was published Nov. 29 in the Toronto Star.

In the article, Moola and Suzuki discuss the creation of a $85-million government trust to clean up industrial mercury contamination that has been poisoning people in the Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations in northwestern Ontario since the early 1960s.

The authors say that, besides financing cleanup efforts, the federal and Ontario governments must ensure that those suffering from mercury poisoning receive culturally appropriate treatment and care within their communities.

Newly appointed in the Department of Geography, Moola is an ecologist who studies conservation leadership and policy. He is also the David Suzuki Foundation’s director general of Ontario and Northern Canada.