'Eat less fish' if you're worried about methylmercury: MP Nick Whalen

The MP for St. John's East has a solution to concerns over the higher levels of toxic methylmercury expected from flooding of the Muskrat Falls reservoir: eat less fish.

NDP Leader Earle McCurdy said in an interview with NTV that government should be making it mandatory to clear vegetation and soil from the flooding site at the hydroelectric project, saying "if we can't afford to clear the reservoir, we can't afford to do the project."

Whalen disagreed with McCurdy's statement.

"That is ridiculous. Just measure MeHg [methylmercury] levels, eat less fish while MeHg are too high, and compensate," he tweeted on Sunday.

Reaction from Muskrat Falls protesters and opponents of the Labrador hydroelectric project was swift. Timmins-James Bay NDP MP Charlie Angus accused him of mocking Indigenous people.

Labradorian Charlie Flowers said Whalen supports "poisoning Indigenous food supply and compensating later," and asked if the Inuit people were expected to buy cultural and traditional practices at the grocery store as well.

Whalen said there is "lots of vitriol" and "hysteria" over the project, and that he's looking for reasonable solutions.

Labrador doctor Andrew Bresnahan pointed out that McCurdy's statement was a reflection of protesters' call for the entire reservoir to be clearcut to mitigate the rise of methylmercury levels.

Whalen's comments echoed remarks made by Gilbert Bennett, Nalcor's vice-president of power development, last week.

"For fish in the reservoir, I think we would generally expect levels to rise high enough that we would consider advising people not to eat fish that often," said Bennett.

"We're not saying it's not safe. It's entirely safe to eat. The only question is taking appropriate steps to mitigate the risk."

CBC News has left messages for Whalen seeking further comment.