In Fort Chipewyan

On Saturday, the delegation flew into Fort Chipewayn, 300 km north of Fort McMurray. Fort Chip is a fly-in community, except for the winter when an ice road can be built through the boreaal forest and across the immense Athabasca River.

Abe Janzen, Executive Director of Mennonite Central Committee Alberta, describes Fort Chip:
Fort Chip is at the Western tip of Lake Athabasca, a small town of about 1200 people. It includes about 5 different people groups... the Mikisew Cree, the Athabasca Chipewyan, the French Metis, and Scottish Metis, and then various families of Asian, white Canadian, Nigerian and probably some other backgrounds. In Fort Chip we had lunch at lovely lodge overlooking the lake, with some community leaders present, and then we toured the local museum as well as the Anglican and Catholic churches, both of which have histories to around the beginning of the last century. In fact, Fort Chip claims to be the oldest town in Alberta... 1788. Fort Chip now has paved streets, and some pretty good infrastructure.

The people of Fort Chip are worried about the water that surrounds them in the Delta and Lake Athabasca.

Water levels in the lake dropped dramatically after the construction of the WAC Bennett dam on the Peace River some thirty years ago. Trapping, so essential to indigenous livelihood here, was disurupted. Now the problem seems to be coming from further south. Abe writes:

But the other problem in Fort Chip is that the massive, massive oilsands are upstream, not so far along the Athabasca River, which empties into the delta area that surrounds Fort Chip. There are tailing ponds ... incredibly giant storage pits where the oilsands companies dump toxic waste materials ... and at least one of them is not 50 meters from the Athabasca River. There is seepage. They are supposed to put liners in the bottom of those pits before they begin to use them, but one hears stories of incredible seepage, that the companies have then tried to stop ... which means there really is seepage. And to have that sitting so close to the river means there is toxic waste emptying into the river. As the people of Fort Chip say, the air, the water, the land are being affected. No one seems to know quite how badly, but the incidence of rare cancers is above normal in Fort Chip, and in other communities as well. We heard quite a few stories and you can watch the movie, Downstream, which we saw in Fort Chip at an evening meeting, describes this reality. One of the chiefs in Fort Chip said there is not a family there that has not lost someone to a rare illness, like cancer, in the last 10 to 20 years.

As Abe notes, we met with membrs of the community on Saturday evening and again for a powerful ecumenical service on Sunday.




Presbyterian Moderator Cheol Soon Park writes of our time with the people of Fort Chipewyan:

They all came with special stories to share. They talked about the changes happened during last few decades. Their life style has been forced to change as their primary food supply had been disturbed. Almost everyone had someone in the family died of cancer. Government said that further study is necessary to define the cause of the increased cancer rate in the town. It is the story of Aboriginal communities in the region of Athabasca River.

This may be one of numberless stories involved in ever complicated Tar Sands Development in Alberta. Yet this is the most important story to listen to because it is about people.

Tar Sands present a great opportunity to Canadians. But it will become a true blessing if we will put the priority on the people before anything else.

Flying Over the Pits

On Saturday morning, the delegation flew north a couple hundred kilometres to Fort Chipewyan. Built on the Athabasca delta, it is downstream from Fort McMurray and the open pit mines just to the north of city.

This video is a short section of our flight as we took a detour over the two oldest pit mines and processing plants, Suncor and Syncrude. In it, you'll see several tailings ponds (each at different stages in their lives), the plants, an open pit, and huge pyramids of sulphur (a waste product from the process). You'll also get some sense of the scale of the tar sands operation.

North to Fort McMurray

After a long drive up Highway 63 to Fort McMurray on Friday, we met with members of Fort McKay and Fort McMurray First Nations to hear their concerns about the oil/tar sands. Although their communities receive funding from the companies who operate in their territories, it is on a grant basis, not a reliable sustainable payment. The money is used to build Elder centres, youth centres, and run community programs, so the money is appreciated, but few native people actually work for industry. Fort McKay has its own business arm that supplies catering and health and safety services to the oil sands, but few of the employees actually belong to the community - they are mostly outsiders. In order to attract these outsiders, Fort McKay offers them new homes in the community - while many of their own people wait for housing. The reasons why the native people do not take jobs is complex: reluctance to work in the mines that destroy their land, lack of flexibility to attend community events or act as spiritual leaders, the availability of short-term jobs, drugs and alchohol. There is little contact between the Elders and their youth, meaning that their culture is not being taught, nor do they learn Cree or Dene in their schools or at home. These are conflicted communities, torn between taking what little they can get from industry while watching their communities break down because of the easy money and loss of their land. They feel very strongly that they are paying the price, but are not seeing the benefits of the oil sands development. And yet we also met a woman from Anzac who is working with industry to understand what is happening and to try to win some concession for the grassroots native people. There is great sadness, strength, and resilience in these people.

In the evening we met with church leaders in an informal setting. The woman I met (a Lutheran pastor) spoke of the stable community of people who came 30 years ago and are seeing their grandchildren grow up here. The people are very active in community events - there is a "Relay for Life" tonight, to raise money for cancer and they have over $120,000 pledged from a small remote municipality. Syncrude attends and supports most of the community events and is generous in supporting its employees with pensions, sick leave and compassionate leave. On the other hand, there is a quick turn-over of temporary and contract workers who have no commitment to the community, and last year the municipality applied for intervenor status at a hearing to argue against continued expansion until the infrastructure (housing, hospitals, schools, fire stations etc.) has caught up with the massive population growth. These people are proud of their community, but they also struggle with the pace of development.

On Saturday, we take two small charter planes (too small for luggage, so we must leave most of it in Fort McMurray and only take overnight bags). We will fly over the oil sand mines, to Fort Chipewyan to meet with the Dene, Cree and Metis communities. I look forward to this trip, as I think Fort Chipewyan is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Walk cheerfully over the earth, seeking that of God in everyone (George Fox).

Dana Bush, Quaker Delegate

Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones!

On our way to Fort McMurray today we stopped in Athabasca for coffee and the chance to meet with local people involved in a number of justice organizations. We heard from representatives of Keepers of the Athabasca, a group of First Nations, Metis, Inuit, environmental groups, and Watershed citizens working together for the protection of water, land, and air in the Athabasca River Watershed.

I must admit that I was predisposed to like this group because of their name - Keepers of the Athabasca. It reminds me of the hymn line 'Ye watchers and ye holy ones'! I just love the idea of a group of people committed to keeping, or watching over, the river.

The group delivered more than the promise of their name. I was impressed by the knowledgeable and articutate presentation. But was impressed me the most was the passion they had both for the river and surrounds and for the people.

What further moved me was the respect they brought to each other and their varied traditions and religions. It was a great example of how we need to treat each other, even in the midst of tension and controversy. I am glad there are such faithful and committed people watching over the river!

The Rev. Susan Johnson,
National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Talkin' About the Tar Sands

The delegation had its first community event on May 21 in Edmonton, a dialogue with people from all of KAIROS' member organizations and the broader community. More than 100 people turned out. Many thanks to the fabulous Edmonton KAIROS Committee.

Here, the Rev. Bruce Adema, Director of Canadian Ministries for the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and member of the delegation, reflects back some of what he heard during the evening:

En Route -- Mary Corkery's Blog

May 20, 2009. 11:00 AM EST

Dear Friends,

Fabricio Gauman of Oil Watch in Colombia, Sara Stratton, KAIROS staff leading this delegation, and I are in flight, en route to join other members of the KAIROS Ecumenical delegation to the Athabasca Tar Sands, at our starting point, Edmonton.

Below us the beautiful forests and lakes of northern Ontario remind us that we owe our environment a debt for this polluting flight. We’ll work to compensate for this through our protocols for reducing energy use at KAIROS. But, if we wish to really understand an issue, there is no substitute for seeing it up close and talking one-on-one with those most affected by it.

The plane’s captain comments that many on board today are flying to work in Fort McMurray. We hold in our hearts and prayers the many people whose lives and families depend on their salaries as workers for the oil industry in Alberta. Our delegation is setting out on a journey of dialogue with people who live or work in the communities surrounding the tar sands developments, with Indigenous peoples, corporations, and Alberta government and elected officials.

Our goal is to work hard as a team throughout this journey; to listen, share our concerns, and in the end to build common ground for an ecumenical witness to what we have learned about the tar sands development. Once we are at home, KAIROS will begin to shape a policy on the tar sands as part of our ongoing work for just and sustainable energy with just and sustainable livelihoods.

It is a privilege for me to join leaders of KAIROS member churches, an Indigenous leader, and two Southern partners on this journey. The first chapter of the journey has begun. Your prayers and accompaniment are most welcome.

Blessings,
Mary

Mary Corkery
Executive Director, KAIROS

Getting the Word Out!

As the delegation comes closer, so does the media! Friday was a busy day at the KAIROS communications desk, as we stickhandled stories for Reuters, the Calgary Herald, the Edmonton Sun, and the CBC -- to hear an overview of what we're hoping to achieve on this delegation, listen to my interview on CBC Calgary's Homestretch. Stay tuned for more news in the coming days!