In August, leaders of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis wrote a letter to the then-minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez.

"The Transport Canada dock in downtown Fort Chipewyan is the only alternative to the airport if the community is placed under an urgent evacuation alert," they wrote, particularly if evacuation by air is not possible.

"We went ahead and we said that we were going to go ahead with the contracting of the remediation of the dock to repair it, so we would be able to dredge the canal to the channel."

Once they found the contractor, Adam said, the company revealed to them that there were "heavy contaminants in the area," based on the 2017 report.

Adam said Transport Canada failed to notify the community about this issue.