The Quebec government is going to court to fight the dumping of contaminated soil along the shores of a lake in the Mohawk community of Kanesatake, west of Montreal.
Following an operation last month to collect soil samples and inspect several sites along the banks of the Lake of Two Mountains, the Environment Department is seeking an injunction in Quebec Superior Court to stop the dumping of soil and other waste on 17 properties.
The move follows months of media coverage and public pressure from community members, who say illegal dumping has been a problem in Kanesatake for years. The government says it starting looking into the issue after receiving complaints from residents last fall.
The application for an injunction names 17 defendants, mostly Kanesatake residents, and two companies that did work on the properties where the dumping allegedly occurred. However, it does not name other construction companies whose trucks …