SAULT STE. MARIE – Ever since it was announced that Sault Ste. Marie was going to be the host city for Noront Resources' ferrochrome smelter, citizens have been divided.
Some see the benefits of high paying jobs while others worry about health risks.
In the past couple of months, people have been protesting the smelter.
Across the river, Americans in Sault Michigan joined in and held their first protest against the decision.
"I don't like the fact that our next generation won't be able to voice their opinions," said Sara Weber, a protestor.
While Canadians have been protesting the proposed smelter for a couple of months now, Americans haven't. They say it's because no one is in America is talking about it.
"It's not really in the conversations pools that I'm around. It's pretty scary so I thought… we are coming down here and supporting the efforts of this group. It just really isn't in when we're at the water cooler or at the coffee pot, people aren't really talking about it," said Michelle Callaghan, a protestor.
Tomantha Sylvester organized the protest. She says she did so because of her family and the way she was raised.
"I'm Native American, so I grew up that you have to protect the earth. This isn't just our responsibility… it's just inherent. It's in my blood that we need to protect people and animals and all those things," she explained.
Although the smelter will not be built in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan, organizers of the protest say they would still like to have an open house with Noront officials on the side of the border.
"They're a Canadian-based company but it's an arbitrary line that runs right there you know. Whatever happens over there is going to happen to us and vice versa," said Sylvester.
It's currently unknown if an open house will happen. While this protest took place in Michigan, another one was occurring in Ontario.
