In the morning, and after breakfast,
we all get together for a pipe ceremony presided over by Clifford at 8 AM. Both
Clifford and I are pipe carriers. His pipe is for males only while mine is for
all, so we use mine for the three women. The ceremony is followed by a talking
circle. It is a moving way to start the canoe trip.
Brittany and I drive first with
Howie and Willow to the Snye where we drop off one canoe and our gear. Howie
and Willow will stay here for the morning. Then Brittany and I are off to Ft
McKay, as I have arranged to meet with and interview Dr John O’Connor, the medical director in Ft
McKay. Brittany intends to photograph the good doctor . Dr. We drive for about
an hour: the traffic is steady. We find the Dorothy McDonald Business Centre,
an impressive building which houses the Band Office, the Health Clinic, a
variety of other services and the Band’s Group of Companies. We are early and I
try to find Dayle Hyde, Rod’s daughter and the Communications Officer for Ft
McKay FN. She is around somewhere.
The Dorothy McDonald Business Centre in Ft McKay
The late Dorothy McDonald, former Chief of Fort McKay FN
John O’Connor texts me to say that
he is free so we walk around the corner to the Clinic. He is a small, quiet,
friendly man, 60-ish, with a full beard and a slight Irish lilt, who has worked
as a family physican in northern Alberta for 20 years.
A few years ago, Dr. O’Connor had
formal complaints lodged against him to the Alberta College of Physicians by
both the Alberta and Federal governments
“for raising undue alarm” because he has called attention to what he saw as an
unusually high rate of certain rare cancers and other illnesses in Ft Chip. (He
and his wife Charlene live in Edmonton- she works with him in the clinic- but he is the doctor for both Ft McKay and Ft
Chip). Health Canada officials were openly dismissive in their response to community
concerns. Some of these cancers have more recently been connected to exposure
to certain petroleum products, but this was not known at the time (2006). After
charges were dropped by the College, Dr. O’Connor called for a health study. The
Alberta government agreed but insisted that the oil companies be involved. The
community refused to allow this, citing a conflict of interest. The government responded
by cancelling the study. More recently a health study was planned for Ft McKay
but after a year of meetings, the Alberta government backed out without
explanation.
John O'Connor (photo from the internet)
Dr O’Connor has talked to many of
his patients who work in the tar sands industry. He says that they know there
are serious problems with the tar sands but they are well paid, have mortgages,
families and lots of vehicles, and so they continue until retirement around age
60. Many have serious health complications.
Just before leaving, I am able to
talk to Dayle Hyde. Unfortunately, she is busy with a film crew and many
interviews with regard to yesterday’s decision by the Alberta Energy Regulator
concerning the Dover Project. I also run into Allan Adam, Athabasca Chipewyan
FN Chief, who I will be interviewing in Ft Chip in 10 days or so.
The drivers of the other three
vehicles meet Brittany and me at the Ft McKay Band Office at 1 PM. Brian
Durant, a Newfoundlander who is a construction manager for the band, has agreed
to drive us back to the Snye in Ft Mac. Brian is 60 and an avid canoeist.
As we are loading our canoes back at
the Snye in Ft Mac, I interview Rod Hyde who is there to see us off. Some of us
are interviewed in turn by CJ Phillips, a local journalist writing for the Ft
McKay Connect, a local newspaper. It is late afternoon when we start out in our
five canoes.We paddle for only 1.5 hours before setting up camp. It feels like
the start of any wilderness canoe trip: boreal forest scenery on a northern
river, with a bustling city that we are leaving behind. Ft Mac is situated at
almost 57 degrees North latitude. Ft Chip is at almost 59 degrees North, or
about 200 km due north.
Loading canoes at the Snye on the Clearwater River (just before the confluence with the Athabasca River
Ready to go: canoes are full!
And they're off: Heather and I decide to start off backwards.
That evening we have a big pickerel fry. Very tasty! Bruce
was given the frozen fillets that morning at the campground by an old friend,
Sarah Loutitt, who is Métis, and lives with her partner Ron Campbell in Ft Chip.
She is taking her daughter down south to attend university. Bruce had met Sarah
by chance at the airport in Ft Mac while the rest of us were up in small
planes. I do not ask but assume that the fish come from Lake Athabasca.
Our first campsite on the Athabasca River
Later that evening, Bruce leads with
his harmonica in some improv jazz singing. We create the tune: the Athabasca
River blues. This is followed by some Métis square dancing on the beach at our beach campsite. Following this our group gave
ourselves the name, “the Athabasca River Dancers”. During the evening, all of a
sudden, there is a flash flood across the river, in a small creek. As it reaches
a crescendo, it knocks over a couple of sizeable poplar trees. Within two
minutes, things are back to normal. We had experienced only a little rain over
the day so this is surprising. Naturally, we wonder if it had anything to do
with a mining operation as our maps point to one not far away on that side of
the river.
The Athabasca River Dancers
There is a family of beavers with a
lodge nearby who are out swimming and feeding nearby.
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