Dr. John O’Connor faced years of backlash after raising concerns in 2006 about unusually high numbers of cancer cases in communities downstream of the oilsands. Now, he has been awarded the first-ever Peter Bryce Prize for whistleblowing from Ryerson University's Centre for Free Expression.
The publicly funded inquiry, which is meant to examine an alleged foreign-funded campaign against Alberta oil and gas, spent approximately $97,560 commissioning the reports.
Flooding in Fort McMurray has raised concerns that the rising waters could breach toxic waste reservoirs in Alberta's oilsands, which could have devastating consequences for local Indigenous people and the environment. The Alberta Energy Regulator says all dams are intact and teams are monitoring the situation.
"We saw Alberta drawing a line in the sand with the (Trans Mountain) pipeline. Now there’s another line in the sand," Independent Sen. Mary Coyle said, about the Frontier mine. "And you can’t keep going with those lines in the sand."
Short-term forecasts show a good year ahead for the energy sector. But long term, Canadians are pushing for clean energy and global demand for petroleum may peak sooner than expected.
"Most Indigenous communities are engaged in resource development in one way or another", said Dale Swampy, president of the National Coalition of Chiefs.
