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First Nations communities in Alberta are resounding the calls made by environmental organizations and others for the federal government to pay more attention to the suspected health and environmental effects of oil sands development, and to ensure the industry is made as clean as possible.
On Feb. 15, the group Environmental Defence released a report entitled "Canada's Toxic Tar Sands: The Most Destructive Project on Earth". At a press conference in Ottawa, representatives from First Nations downriver of oil sands development in Alberta expressed their concerns. Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Councillor Willis Flett, Mikisew Cree First Nation, wanted their voices heard.
"We've seen a drastic change in water contamination going down the Athabasca River, which has a direct impact on our reserve," said Adam, whose community is located approximately 280 kilometres northeast and downriver of Fort McMurray. "Seventy-eight per cent of our community still relies on traditional foods. Every animal survives off the river, and we still live off those animals."
"We've seen severe health concerns coming within our community," Flett added. "We've had high rates of various forms of cancer. We've had lupus, which is a blood disorder, and other various health concerns within our region. At the present time, we don't have any evidence that it is due to the tar sands. But we do live downstream from the tar sands, and we've seen the higher rates within the last say 10 years."
"There are two known cases of bile duct cancer," Adam added. "That's a rare cancer, one in 100,000. There are possibly four others, but the others cannot be recorded because the people have passed on. If there are six in a community of 1,200 people something's got to be going on. Everyone is pointing to the water."
Environmental Defence's press release notes, "The community of Fort Chipewyan made headlines last year when Health Canada launched a complaint against the town doctor for speaking out about abnormal disease rates in the...