Dr. Courtney Howard and her co-authors underscore the pressing importance for Canada’s health sector to follow through on its commitments to the TRC. Finally, they encourage immediate executive action to implement these commitments. This call to arms to protect the environment, released last week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), celebrates that movement. It further underscores that health of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in reference to the Alberta oil sands. This action alert draws attention to the acute and cumulative environmental and health impacts associated with oil sands extraction. These worries especially impact communities of color situated downstream.
The Alberta oil sands encompass a larger stretch of land than the UK. Even more troubling is the environmental health impacts on Indigenous Peoples and surrounding communities. Their tailings ponds have expanded to twice the size of Vancouver and are now located right next to key waterways. This deeply troubling crisis has raised serious concern around the country over water quality and public health.
Concerns from Indigenous Communities
Dr. Nicole Redvers hails from the Dene First Nations community in Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT). We’re lucky to have her winningly advocate for these weighty topics. Yet her community heavily relies on waterways that run through the oil sands region. This heavy dependence has already raised alarms about possible health impacts on nearby communities.
“For years, we have been sharing our concerns about the health of the water, and the impacts that the oil sands operation is having on downstream communities’ health and well-being.” – Dr. Nicole Redvers
The commentary by Dr. Howard and her team stresses that air, water, and land contaminations from oil sands operations have negative impacts on local residents’ health. This is not a minor technicality – the clock is ticking. Elders from NWT warned of dangers to health from oil sands almost 14 years ago.
Dr. Redvers goes into more detail on the need for more robust studies to get a clearer picture of these health impacts.
“We are long overdue for a comprehensive community-led health study that meets First Nation calls for action, and addresses the substantial gaps in the evidence for cumulative exposures from overt to micro effects.” – Dr. Nicole Redvers
The Call for Action
Dr. Howard, a clinical associate professor at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, tells us what’s required right now. He argues that both industry and the government of Canada should be equally dedicated to conducting research on the impacts that oil sands tailings have on human health. She points out that, with external threats to Canadian sovereignty in many ways growing, clean water is poised to become an even more lucrative resource.
“As external threats to Canadian sovereignty mount, our priceless clean water is becoming of ever-greater value in a hotter world. We must prevent the tragedy of irreversibly polluting a globally significant waterway in the sunset of the Age of Oil.” – Dr. Howard and co-authors
Additionally, Dr. Howard stresses how difficult it is to track the movement of water once it’s been impacted by oil sands operations.
“The first thing to understand is that water flows northwards up past the oil sands through one of the world’s most epic waterways—all the way to the Arctic Ocean.” – Dr. Courtney Howard
This complex web of water movement brings even more uncertainty to the question of whether tar sands pollutants could harm communities and ecosystems far downstream.
The Importance of Research and Reconciliation
Dr. Howard and her colleagues argue that addressing these community health issues will take more than scientific breakthrough. It is one of many steps necessary for the vital, ongoing act of reconciling with Indigenous Peoples to take place. By recognizing their rights and addressing their health concerns through research, Canada can take meaningful steps toward fulfilling its commitments outlined by the TRC.
The authors emphasize that these improvements cannot wait. They call on us to research and find ways to prevent potential health hazards associated with oil sands tailings. Only through a spike in traffic and increased likelihood of a spill should Indigenous communities be protected, they claim. In so doing, it protects irreplaceable living resources for future generations.