I'm surrounded by fellow staff from the Council of Canadians and a film crew taping footage for a documentary featuring Maude and a number of Council chapter activists. We're all part of a trip taking us to the tar sands so we can experience - hear, smell, touch and see - the realities of this energy boom. I'm sure I'm joined by many on this bus in asking the question and seeking the answer to - boom for whom? That is what I intend to spend my time thinking about today and tomorrow as I take in the sights on our bus tour that will bring us close to where tar sands is produced. We will learn from others (deleted words) at the tar, oops I mean Oil Sands Discovery Centre and hear from Dr. Sauve who has been working in the community of Fort McMurray. Already I've had a lovely conversation with Mel, a chapter activist in Edmonton. We discussed agriculture in Alberta, the need for a significant expansion of renewable energy (apparently geothermal power is promising in Alberta) and he confirmed for me that indeed we were passing small oil pumpers in fields of wheat coloured remains from summer crops.

When the questions began a number of things peaked my interest. It was hard not to notice that the Mayor used the term oil sands while everyone else in the room used tar sands - the earlier pre-corporate PR campaign term.

When questioned on water, the Mayor indicated support for scientific studies of water quality (like in Lake Athabasca) that consider the impacts of the tar sands as well as nearby uranium mining in Saskatchewan and other industries. When Meera our water campaigner asked whether the Mayor would include having answers to questions about the water impacts of tar sands as a pre-requisite for new tar sands approvals, she, in many more words, declined to take this position. She suggested that there needs to be scientific evidence of what exactly is happening.  She also added that she has not personally experienced the impacts - she had not seen the level of the river drop significantly. Other water questions included whether the Mayor would consider privatizing the water system, she indicated that a P3 plan had been considered but that they decided against it (for now).

When asked about royalties and what she thought of the criticisms that they are not high enough, she shared that she was present at the recent review of royalties. Her point was that the community of Fort McMurray should not suffer while wealth was sent out of the region. This sentiment was echoed in the Mayor's response to whether she, like the Council of Canadians and a number of organizations, supports the petition for no new approvals of tar sands development. Her response was that infrastructure and community needs must keep pace with development.  This confirms first that meeting needs is not keeping pace and also suggests that as long as meeting needs were prioritized, there would be no reason from the City Hall perspective to support no new approvals.

When I shored up my courage, I asked the Mayor whether she could give us her opinion regarding the fact that the tar sands are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases in our country and contribute significantly to our growing inability to meet Kyoto commitments. I asked whether this was something discussed at a community level. Her response was that people are focused on living their lives in the community, getting to work and then back home – that issues of emissions from the tar sands were beyond what was considered at a community level. This really prompted me to think about whose responsibility it is to take on the very serious task of reducing GHGs or at least engage in discussion about how best to do this without serious social consequences. Clearly this is not the sole task of this Mayor or this community. But it is a collective responsibility. One that we must all take seriously.

Other questions included a discussion of the impacts of worker migration to the tar sands. Ending on a positive note, the Mayor indicated some willingness for their Council to move away from bottled water at City meetings (although she noted that water jugs spill and glasses need to be washed, so it's just easier on staff to have bottled water).

Overall, it was an insightful visit. The Mayor is clearly passionate about her community. Reading between the lines, she is not ready yet to talk about the broader impacts of the tar sands that fuels the growing support for the 'no new approvals of tar sands development' petition.

The presentation included samples of the various stages that bitumen goes through in being extracted and processed; some handed around to the audience to be touched and smelled. One sample was the raw material that is extracted from the ground, a dark gritty sand-like substance. Next was a mixture the first sample and hot water, which helped to remove most of the sand, leaving a black layer that floated on top. A sample of bitumen - after further processing - looked like very thick, black molasses. Other samples included a hard black substance that appeared to be almost solid carbon, and a beaker of the gritty black sand that smelled strongly - pretty hard to describe in words.

It was clear that the presenter, one the of many people trying to make a living in Fort McMurray, had a clear set of parameters for the discussion; at no point in the video or presentation were the emissions caused by tar sands production mentioned, nor were any other environmental impacts or the effects on First Nations. Sitting in the audience, I couldn’t help but innocently request that the host speak to some of the concerns around the emissions.  The response was startling.  She was "unaware" of the specific numbers or levels of emissions, but assured the audience that the industry and government as well as outside parties were vigorously monitoring them.  Following the video we all shuffled into the field trip section of the centre designed for learning about the tar sands in an interactive and fun way.  There was a big piece of machinery in the centre (massive really); people were invited to go up a flight of stairs for a photo opportunity standing on top of the machine.  Dylan informs me (alas, I did not catch the video myself) that one small screening room featured a short four minute film which tried to make the case that the oil companies' approach to the tar sands is in line with aboriginal wisdom.

After taking a cursory walk through, I made my way over to the gift shop. Lining the walls were baseball caps from Suncor and Syncrude (corporations in the tar sands), hard hats, the typical polished rocks found at all gift stores, and even baby socks with giant dump trucks and a children’s book connecting various elements of the tar sands with their respective colours. My personal favorite was the over-sized beer stein with the message, "size does matter". I think we all walked out of the centre feeling like we had just left the twilight zone – some sort of space between the tar sands as they are, and the tar sands as big oil wants us to see them. Tomorrow we’ll get a taste of reality on a bus tour taking us much closer to production sites.  

Many may be familiar with Dr. O’Connor’s story — he came under fire from Health Canada (a formal complaint was filed against the doctor) after stating publicly, in March 2006, that he felt the rate of cancer in Fort Chipewyan (downstream from the tar sands) was disproportionately high. The Alberta government and Health Canada insisted that the cancer rates were not high enough to cause concern. The governments' position was based on a report that O’Connor believes was inadequate; it was completed over a short timeframe and missing key data and input from affected community members. The concern is that Lake Athabasca, which is home to fish that local residents in Fort Chipewyan eat and is traditionally a spot for swimming and other activities, may be contaminated. One study by Kevin P. Timoney found carcinogens in Lake Athabasca water, fish, and sediment near Fort Chipewyan. There are debates about whether this is solely the result of tar sands production, but as these debate rages on, two jawed fish continue to found and unsettling rates of unusual forms of cancer continue to be observed. Demands for tests of toxins in people’s blood and local environment are being met by promises of transparent, accountable studies of the water quality; while the peoples of Fort Chipewyan continue to voice their concerns and experiences.

I think we were all a little unsure of what the meeting with Dr. Sauvé would be like. We left knowing that we had heard an account of true concern for the communities near the tar sands spoken with courage and integrity.  Dr. Sauvé spoke to us about the challenges that come along with the astounding growth rate of Fort McMurray, around 8 percent a year – a true boom town (challenges which the Mayor had insinuated earlier today). One of these challenges is keeping pace with community need for healthcare.  Dr. Sauvé recognized the strains associated with the lack of doctors and nurses and high turnovers in the health field in Fort McMurray; although this has seen some improvement lately.  He also spoke about the challenges in bringing forward these concerns in a number of arenas.  It was clear throughout his accounts that he had support from friends and colleagues in the community, of which he was proud, and is intent on ensuringn that Fort McMurray has the best possible healthcare available — we should all be so lucky as to have doctors as dedicated and passionate as Dr. Sauvé.  We all left touched by the sincerity of Dr. Sauvé’s words and actions.

Here is a CBC article with more information about John O’Connor and Michel Sauvé’s story: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/albertapolitics/story/2008/05/22/edm-fort-chip.html

At one point we passed large tailings lakes on both sides of the highway with both the Syncrude and Suncor plants visible in the distance. Lining a section of one lake was what looked like black sand. It was at this point that I first experienced a smell, for lack of a better description, it smelt like tar (some in Fort McMurray refer to it as the smell of money). We also observed what appeared to be steam off of a tailings lake which we thought was likely the product of hot water from a production process being pumped into the lake.  In arriving close to Fort McKay, we turned around and began taking another route which brought us to the entrance of a Syncrude site. Encouraged by the welcome sign, we parked the bus and a few board members approached the security guards posted at the entrance of the site to ask permission to travel further. This request was denied and we were shuffled back onto the bus by security guards. From that point on, when we would stop the bus just off the highway, we were accompanied by a number of security vehicles clearly uncomfortable with our presence. Our final stop was at an area set up for people like ourselves who had come to experience and understand what was happening the tar sands.  In exiting the bus I was struck by the symbolism of the Canadian and Alberta flags flying in unison with a Syncrude flag. There were three vast pieces of machinery on display. Writing this, I’m hard pressed to convey how striking the machinery was in its size. Later, I learnt that the machinery being currently used in the tar sands were in fact much bigger than the dated machines on display.

After we all made our way back onto the bus there was an extended period of silence. I can’t speak for others, but the experience of spending three hours driving into what is only a small portion of an area of mining that is larger then the size of New Brunswick, was staggering and thought provoking.  

Without a doubt, there are very serious environmental and social impacts of the tar sands. Whether it is in ripping up large tracks of the boreal forest (carbon sinks that absorb the kind of GHGs being emitted in the energy intensive mining of bitumen) and precious ecologically unique wetlands, toxic tailings lakes, the depletion and contamination of water, contributing significantly to Canada’s shameful  international reputation in tackling climate change or the front lines of the tar sands impacts in Fort Chipewyan located beside Lake Athabasca (downstream from the tar sands) where two jawed fish have been documented and unusually high cancer rates are happening or the variety of strains on boom town Fort McMurray; the impacts of the tar sands are real.  As I look out the window on the road back to Edmonton, a couple of questions keep my thoughts busy.  How can we best communicate these impacts to a broader Canadian and global public? How can we support the resistance stemming from the communities being impacted by this energy gold rush? How can we move beyond boom and bust cycles of fossil fuel energy production that leave our environment and people as secondary to an energy gold rush? What must we do to hold our governments accountable to our interests in wanting sustainable energy production that meets Canadians needs, minimizes environmental impacts and transitions away from fossil fuel and nuclear dependency? What steps must be taken to ensure that this transition is good for workers whose interests we must consider, and ecological sustainable?  These are questions that are not easily answered but are absolutely vital to ask and to continue to publicly discuss, debate and organize around.  Something I fully intend on committing to in my position as energy campaigner with the Council of Canadians.  We have the vision. A future where energy production is focused on meeting people’s needs, unionized ‘green jobs,’ is ecologically sustainable and accountable to the public interest.  Joining the call for a Canadian Energy Strategy is a good first step in making sure that it is this vision that becomes our reality.