Heather Plaizier's Canoe Journey

Heather Plaizier was a participant in the 2013 canoe trip. Here is how she saw it.

 

Canoe Journey to Fort Chipewyan

In western Canada, the Athabasca River spills and flows from the glaciers in the Rocky Mountains, through central northern forests, prairies, and towns. It crashes along northward to Fort McMurray, where it begins to collect the greasy debris from bitumous sands along its banks, and from 160 thousand square kilometres of strip mining and in situ operations. 

I sure would have loved to canoe this river in 1950, to witness the natural state of this ecosystem before men and women went crazy with efforts to extract energy and profits from its subterranean sands.

We do know the ecosystem was rich back then. The river, land, lakes, and muskeg supported a network of wild and human life. The water was drinkable. The fish were healthy. The muskrats and moose were abundant.

In August 2013, we took eight days to paddle from Fort McMurray to Fort Chipewyan. Our group of ten included one Métis and three Nehiyo men, three men and one woman of Jewish heritage, one woman of Filipina heritage, and me, a woman of Dutch heritage. Four of us are in our twenties, including two of the three women; two in our thirties and forties; and four of us, including me, in our fifties and early sixties.

I felt like a young kookum on that trip, with some good skills, but still learning to listen.

Ni toh tam. Try to hear. If I listen carefully, I may understand.

These river banks, in August, are covered in willow and mint. They shelter magnificent clouds of bugs. There are few birds, though four pelicans lead us northward on our first day of paddling. We camp on beautiful sandy islands. We are graced with warm sunny days and cloudless nights with northern lights. If the water were clean enough to invite a swim, we might imagine ourselves on an idyllic nature retreat.

But the water is not clean. And the air on our first days is punctuated with the sounds of frequent cannon blasts. We pass industrial operations that are stripping, spewing, and hauling dusty grey products and by products, and orange sulphur. We camp near ‘the bridge to nowhere’, where busloads and trucks of workers rumble constantly, with metropolitan rush hour intensity all day and evening long. The only village in the area is Fort McKay, yet the traffic reveals the extent of human presence in the territories beyond the shorelines of the river. 

Men and women are digging, dragging, draining, and sifting for bitumen. They are burning vast amounts of precious natural gas and coal generated electricity, transported hundreds of kilometres from the south. They are pouring energy, water, and chemicals in, to pull bitumen out; leaving behind the spent and toxic waters in massive, barely contained artificial lakes, until we figure out what to do with them; blasting cannons all through the days and nights in a token attempt to warn the birds away. Dummy orange men are perched on floats all over these toxic lakes: archaic scarecrows and tactics in what pretends to be a savvy, high tech scheme. The air poisons the breath and lungs of newborn children in Fort McKay. As I pass the pretend buffalo paddock and pretend reclamation areas on the return trip, I feel truly saddened and alarmed. This massive activity is blasting along even though the ‘developers’ and regulators really have no clue how to manage the magnitude of the destruction that is being left behind. Driven by an economic mindset where disaster creates profit.

My quiet, listening voice says ‘fools’. Stop. Listen. Look. Feel what we really need.

The last days of the trip take us further into muskeg, river delta, lakeland, and then the stunning beauty of the rocks and shield beginning near Fort Chipewyan. Pelicans greet our arrival. We have been met and hosted by Métis, Nehiyo, and Dene folks at multiple points along our way.

There is no return road from Fort Chip in the summer, so we hire the local barge operator to load us with our canoes and gear and carry us the two days back up river to Fort McKay.

We are blessed with knowing this river, these lakes, these people, and each other in a closer way. We carry the prayer to stop the destruction, to start the healing.

Heather Plaizier lives in Edmonton, Alberta.

Too little regulation- Too much risk

Vancouver Observer      October 7, 2013

 

            I am responding to the article in the Vancouver Observer, “There is a way out: Preventing oil sands health tragedy from becoming Canada's permanent legacy”, October 2, 2013, written by Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician, mother, and board member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). While I have great respect for CAPE and their accomplishments, and agree with most of what Dr. Howard has to say, I do not think she goes anywhere near far enough. Like Dr. Howard, I have begun my own investigations into the oil sands. 

            The reason that Dr. Howard found virtually no clinical studies by government concerning the reportedly high rates of cancer and other diseases in communities affected by the oil sands industry is because it would appear that that is the way the federal and Alberta governments and the oil industry want it.  I interviewed Dr. John O’Connor, chief medical officer for Ft McKay and Ft Chipewyan in August 2013. His initial concerns of high incidence of cancer and other diseases in Ft Chip in 2006 were responded to by both federal and Alberta governments with complaints against him to the Alberta College of Physicians for creating “undue alarm.” (John O’Connor, personal communication, August 2013)

            After the College dropped their investigation of these complaints, Dr. O’Connor was involved in planning health studies with Alberta Health first in Ft Chip and then in Ft McKay. Both studies were cancelled unilaterally by Alberta Health. In the Ft Chip case, Alberta Health wanted the oil sands industry involved in the study. The community of Ft Chip felt that this was a conflict of interest and refused. As a result, Alberta Health cancelled the study. In the Ft McKay case, Dr. O’Connor does not know why the study was cancelled as Alberta Health personnel would not return phone calls. (John O’Connor, personal communication, August 2013)

            In 2009,  Alberta Health did conclude a cancer study on the Ft Chip population (http://www.ualberta.ca/~avnish/rls-2009-02-06-fort-chipewyan-study.pdf)  which their officials claimed showed no cause for concern. (http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/500.asp)    In 2010, the study was peer reviewed by Dr. Gina Solomon, currently Deputy Secretary for Science and Health at the California Environmental Protection Agency. She concluded that the rates of lymphomas and leukemia were 3 times higher than expected in Ft Chip, and that the rates of bile duct cancers were seven times higher than expected. She also pointed out that these specific cancers have been shown to be linked to exposure to oil and petrochemical products. (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/gsolomon

/the_other_oil_disaster_cancer.html) Amid continued reports of health concerns, a new three-year health study in Ft Chip overseen by the University of Calgary is now being initiated. (http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2013/02/20/fort-chipewyan-cancer-study-set-to-begin)

            For years, Dr David Schindler, a U of A aquatic ecologist, has been saying that government environmental monitoring of the oil sands has been inadequate.  (http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/top_scientist_wants_moratorium_on_thirsty_oil_sands_projects)  In studies published in 2009 and 2010 by U of A scientists Erin Kelly, David Schindler, and others, there is strong evidence of important and growing environmental contamination of the Athabasca River by the oil sands. They found that high levels of air pollution are falling to the snow-covered ground in winter in a 50 km radius of the Suncor and Syncrude upgraders. The toxins are undoubtedly being flushed into the Athabasca River and its tributaries by meltwaters in the spring.  (http://www.pnas.org/content/106/52/22346.full  ,  http://www.pnas.org/content/107/37/16178.long)        They characterized the resulting contamination of the Athabasca River as “the equivalent of a major oil spill every spring”. (Al-Jazeera documentary “To the last drop”  http://www.seankheraj.com/?p=1079) Of course, on top of this is the leakage from the toxic lakes resulting from oil sands projects. According to Schindler, it is 99% certain that the toxic water is leaching into aquifers, ground water and the Athabasca River. (Al-Jazeera documentary “To the last drop” http://www.seankheraj.com/?p=1079)

            Another study published in 2013 by John Smol of Queen’s University and Derek Muir of Environment Canada found that oil sands activity is also polluting remote lakes with PAHs (poly-cyclic hydrocarbons), some of which are known carcinogens. They report that the level of pollution is no worse than in urban settings, but is rapidly accumulating. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/oil-sands-development-polluting-alberta-lakes-study/article7014184/)

            There are also the many accidental spills including the one in the Primrose project operated by Canadian National Resources Ltd, which, as of September 16, was still not under control after 4 months, and had so far leaked 1.4 million liters of bitumen. (http://www.ecojustice.ca/blog/nothing-to-see-here-except-the-oil-spill-thats-been-going-on-for-four-months)    

            As a result of the U of A study finding significant impacts on water quality due to oil sands activity where Alberta’s own monitoring program had found none, the federal government commissioned the Oil Sands Advisory Panel to examine the province’s monitoring program. Their final report in December, 2010, found major deficiencies in the program design, inadequate analytical capabilities, insufficient sampling, no understanding of pre-development baseline conditions, and no leadership on reporting on oilsands environmental performance.  (http://www.water-matters.org/blog/419  ,  http://tarsandssolutions.org/in-the-media/experts-flunk-albertas-monitoring-of-rivers-lakes-near-oilsands)

            In response, the federal and Alberta governments announced a new “world class” monitoring system: the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM). This makes sense except that the Alberta government had been claiming for years that they already had an excellent monitoring system in place. (Comments by Alberta Environment Minister, Bob Renner in the Al-Jazeera documentary “To the last drop”  http://www.seankheraj.com/?p=1079)  In fact, I was still able to read in August 2013  in an oil sands  information pamphlet I was given at the Ft McMurray airport, that the “oil sands industry has no significant impact on the Athabasca River”.

            As Howard points out, and I would agree, the available data base of the new joint monitoring system so far “falls far short of being a comprehensive resource.”  It is also under the control of the Albertan Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development rather than being at arm’s length from government and industry. Clearly, the Alberta government does not take seriously the concept of conflict of interest. As another example, the head of the newly formed Alberta Energy Regulator is Gerard Protti, a senior executive for Encana from 1995 and 2009, and the inaugural president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.   (http://www.ernstversusencana.ca/energy-lobbyist-ex-encana-vp-gerard-protti-appointed-as-albertas-new-top-energy-regulator)      It also took an Alberta court ruling this week (on October 2) to force the Alberta Energy Regulator to allow the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition to participate in the regulatory review of a proposed oil sands project.   (http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/judge-quashes-alberta-s-decision-to-bar-environmentalists-from-oilsands-hearing-1.1480927) 

    

            People in the area do not need to be told that there are pollution problems with the Athabasca River coming from the oil sands. No one drinks the river water anymore. The Ft Chip commercial fishing industry died a decade ago because no one would buy their fish, knowing that they were downstream of the oil sands. The local fish-packing plant sits idle. (John Regney, Special Projects Manager for the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation, Personal Communication)  Also, because of the high and growing incidence of deformed, discoloured and tumour-bearing fish, few locals from Ft McMurray to Ft Chip will eat the fish. (Local eagles, osprey, and otters do not have that luxury.) I heard the same story over and over as we traveled on the river from Ft McMurray to Ft Chipewyan. The last such story I heard was from John Regney, Special Projects Manager for the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation, who has lived in Ft Chip for 40 years and has raised his children there. On his last fishing outing, he said that three out of five fish caught had tumours. He also had his second experience this spring of  fish that taste of gasoline. He rarely fishes anymore.  (John Regney, personal communication)

            The level of pollution in the tar sands is an abrogation of indigenous treaty rights which include the right to hunt, fish and carry out traditional activities. How can Aboriginal people do that if they cannot eat the fish or drink the water, and if their land is occupied by the biggest industrial project on the planet? The latest insult in this regard was the decision made by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) which was released the day before we started our trip. We heard about it first from Rod Hyde, the husband of the late, former chief of Fort McKay First Nation, Dorothy McDonald. The AER approved a lease for a new SAGD (Steam assisted gravity drainage) tar sands project (the Dover Commercial Project by Brion Energy Corporation).  It is adjacent to Ft McKay FN lands referred to as the Moose Lake Reserve, 50 km northwest of Ft McKay. According to the Ft McKay FN website   (http://www.fortmckay.com/) :

“This particular area in our traditional territory is sacred to the community of Fort McKay and is the resting place of many of our ancestors.”

“Moose Lake is one of the only areas far enough away from oil sands development where the people of Fort McKay can hunt, trap, fish, and pick berries safely and in peace. Fort McKay First Nation is committed to the protection and preservation of Moose Lake in order to ensure our children and grandchildren have a clean, peaceful place to keep our traditions and culture alive.”

Apparently this will soon no longer be the case. The Ft McKay Band had asked for a 20 km buffer zone around the lake for the above reasons. They are being granted 1.2 km. The band is appealing the decision. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/alberta-first-nation-appeals-decision-on-athabascas-dover-project/article14147058/)

            If allowed to continue as it is, when the oil sands boondoggle finally ends, my best guess is that the reclamation of the forests, wetlands, lakes and rivers despoiled by oil sands development, estimated to eventually cover the surface area of Greece, will be left with Alberta First Nations, the Canadian taxpayer and the fish and the wildlife to deal with, while oil companies make a quick exit citing bankruptcy or whatever the latest ploy will be to avoid taking responsibility. This will be very similar to what Dr. Howard describes as the current situation in Yellowknife with the now abandoned Giant Mine being the country’s biggest toxic waste site. The difference is that the oil sands area will be much bigger: much more spread out and with much higher amounts of toxins, and most will never be reclaimed according to David Schindler. (Al-Jazeera documentary “To the last drop” http://www.seankheraj.com/?p=1079)

            Dr. Howard states that “the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment believes that the people of the Athabasca region and of the Mackenzie River system deserve a truly world-class monitoring system, and that all of our children deserve meaningful action promoting climate health.”  So do I, but I do not think that a proper monitoring system will help much, and it is clear that it is being used as one more delaying tactic by industry and government.

            It is high time that Albertans and Canadians demand that not only no more new projects be approved in the oil sands, but that current ones be considerably slowed down. At the same time Canadians deserve a chance to determine what is reasonable given our need to protect human health, maintain a healthy environment, meet Aboriginal treaty obligations, receive fair economic recompense in taxes from oil sands profits, and decide on a rate of extraction that is reasonable with regard to ongoing climate change.  We know enough now to recognize that what is being done today in the oil sands is completely unacceptable to a sane country. Based on oil sands activity, I am not sure if Canada currently fits that description.

                     Eli Pivnick, PhD, former research scientist for Agriculture Canada and currently a high school teacher in Kamloops, BC. In August 2013, Pivnick paddled down the Athabasca River from Ft McMurray to Ft Chipewyan with 9 other paddlers from all over Canada and the United States.

Three useful websites about the Alberta Oil Industry

The first is Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation’s press releases about their ongoing legal battles with the oil industry and the Alberta and federal governments. Their language is blunt and they are being ignored at every turn but the battle goes forward. They will eventually win because they are right. It is just a question of what will be left when they do.

http://acfnchallenge.wordpress.com/

The second is the Alberta Oil Magazine. What is instructive here is how serious the oil industry takes all its spin of the “responsible development” of oil resources. I am sure it becomes easy to believe all this when you are becoming wealthy from it and are surrounded by people who are in the same situation. Reminds me very much of all the self-congratulatory economists, bankers,  traders, and their  politician buddies, getting rich off subprime mortgages and all the related fraudulent investment vehicles. They too saw nothing wrong with insiders (not) regulating the finance industry, nor with being bailed out in 2008 by the taxpayer so that they could continue to make multi-million dollar salaries while individuals and pension funds lost a great deal of money, in many cases all their savings.

http://www.albertaoilmagazine.com/

The third is an on-going series of interviews with Albertans whose lives have been irrevocably damaged by the oil industry aided and abetted by a provincial government who really seems to have no concern about individuals or the environment.

http://albertavoices.ca/

Harper government sees art as a propaganda tool

Interesting story of a Canadian artist. The small amount of federal funding for her and a Canadian NGO sponsoring her  20-city European tour of her art was pulled because she was concerned about climate change. 

http://www.frankejames.com/buy-banned-on-the-hill/