Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Tuesday May 19 2015 3 INDUSTRY OIL GAS Fort Smith voices distrust around fracking in NWT By MEAGAN WOHLBERG Themeetingbeganwithaprayeraboutwater andendedwithaprayeraboutwatersumming upthegeneralconcernconveyedtoaterritorial government panel charged with engaging the public on the NWTs new rules for hydraulic fracturing or fracking last week. FortSmithresidentsgraduallyfilledtheroom onThursdayeveningduringoneoftheGNWTs last community meetings to discuss the terri- torysnewfrackingregulationswherethecon- versation has been less about the rules them- selves and more about peoples great concern overpotentialimpactstolandwaterandhealth sincethemeetingsbeganamonthagoinInuvik. Fracking may be a good idea in your mind but its a bad idea for people who have the cleanest water in the world Henry Beaver a former chief and member of the Salt River First Nation told the panel. The people work- ing on this legislation are going to retire and go back south but were going to be here. If these regulations are going to be used they have to protect Aboriginal people and North- erners of the Northwest Territories. The new regulations released last month come as a first step in the GNWT taking con- trol over the way development is done in the territory since inheriting control over lands water and resources from the federal govern- ment just over a year ago. The new rules essentially maintain the pre- vious filing requirements established by the NationalEnergyBoardbutbuildinadditional tasks for companies applying to horizontally frackforoilorgasintheterritorybasedonfour Northern priority areas which pay increased attentiontosurfaceandgroundwaterairqual- ity transparency and disclosure. We expect industry to complain because we are demanding tons of information here said Menzie McEachern director of petro- leum resources for the department of Indus- try Tourism and Investment ITI. Still some say the move toward transpar- ency does not go far enough. Though the new rules ask companies to disclose the chemical additives used in fracking that disclosure remains voluntary due to a section in the Petroleum Resources Act protecting com- panies trade secrets. The unwillingness to release certain infor- mationduetoproprietarysecretsdoesntwash with me voiced Fort Smith resident Grant Paziuk. The public has a right to know - its a right and its non-negotiable. It shouldnt be just for the regulators. Im not putting my trust in the regulators I want to be able to do my own homework if I wish. ITIassistantdeputyministerofmineraland petroleum resources Deborah Archibald said the governments plan is to eventually chip away at that confidentiality clause but said the GNWT is currently cuffed by the terms of the federal legislation they mirrored dur- ing devolution. We know its not consistent with the way we do business in the North where its open and public and honest. We know its not the way Northerners want business managed but we had to take the legislation as is she said. Its on our to-do list and were look- ing at other jurisdictions like Alberta where disclosure is mandatory. Others expressed concerns over the need for more research on fracking in the North before allowing it into the territory about fair benefits for Aboriginal communities and emphasized that it should be up to the people of the North to decide if they want to approve the unconventional practice or not. The people of the Northwest Territories al- ready said they dont want it in that area Bea- ver said referring to the Sahtu region where most future fracking is expected to occur. If youre here for those people put that in here he said holding up a copy of the regulations. Henry Beaver of Fort Smith expresses concerns about water the levels of Aboriginal em- ployment by industry and seismic events to a panel engaging the public on the GNWTs new rules for companies performing hydraulic fracturing or fracking in the territory. PhotoMeaganWohlberg Dismissed Fort Chipewyan doctor had stopped making regular visits board By DALI CARMICHAEL The Nunee Health Board Society has re- spondedtoawaveofmediaattentionandaghast residentswhoexpressedshocklastweekfollow- ing the dismissal of one of its on-call doctors. TheFortChipewyanhealthauthorityfiredDr. John OConnor on Friday May 8 giving little reasonforthedecisioninitsabruptemailtothe physicianwhichtoldhimhisserviceswouldno longerbeneededinthecommunityandthathe couldnolongerrepresentNuneeinanywayef- fective immediately. Last week the board released a statement in an effort to give more of an explanation. Over the past few days there has been a great deal of miscommunication about physi- cian services at Nunee and Dr. OConnor the statementreads.Thishascausedunnecessary fear and confusion. As the Board of Directors of Nunee we are concerned by this and have prepared this message so all residents receive accurate information. On May 8 2015 the Board informed Dr. OConnor that it no longer required his ser- vices to provide on-call coverage after regular clinic hours or on the weekends it continues. It is important that the residents realize that Dr. OConnor has not provided clinics in Fort Chipewyan for seven years. The statement also indicates any residents who wish to continue seeing OConnor in Fort McMurray or Fort McKay may do so. TheopenletteralsopointsoutthatDr.Esther Tailfeathers an on-call doctor for the commu- nity who is currently on holiday would soon be resuming her duties as visiting community physician. Two Alberta Health Services AHS doctors are providing on-call services to the community in her absence. Though leaders in the community either de- clined or were unavailable for comment Miki- sew Cree Chief Steve Courtoreille expressed some concern in an article by the Edmonton Journal.CourtoreillesaidOConnorhadntbeen to Fort Chipewyan in several years and ques- tioned his commitment as an advocate for the community. He also stated that OConnor had beenapproachedaboutaWell-Mansclinicand had never responded to the request. OConnor said he travels to the community everytwoorthreeyearsandrunsatele-health systemoutofhishouseinEdmontonmeaning hedidntalwaysneedtobeinthecommunityto conducthisbusiness.Healso remembersturn- ing down the mens wellness proposal because he was too busy with all of his travel clinics. TheNuneeboardofdirectorsandthehealth director are working with AHS to recruit an- other rotating doctor to work with Tailfeath- ers and provide clinics in Fort Chipewyan with the intent of having this person in place by September. OConnorisknownforfirstraisingthealarm over high cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan a northern Alberta community of about 1500 people located downstream from the oilsands. OConnorbelievestheinflatedcancernumbers are linked to contaminants from resource de- velopment activities a claim that was substan- tiated by a study partially funded by Health Canada in 2014. In the past OConnor has faced multiple charges of professional misconduct however they have all been cleared. HEALTH WELLNESS DOCTORS