Iggy Eye's the West

“The big issue for me is I don't want to be a party of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, which is what this party is, because you can't be a good prime minister unless you represent all Canadians.”

“I think sometimes we tried to establish our environmental bona fides by running against the oil sands, and I just think: This is a national industry. It's pumping something like $8-billion into the federal treasury. So it's slightly bad faith to beat the goose that lays the golden egg over the head with a stick. The goose is a little messy. The goose needs to be cleaned up. The goose needs to make better use of the yard, but let's make this a sustainable industry that all Canadians can be proud of.”

"Frankly, I think it's condescending to westerners that being a so-called intellectual is some big liability. People out here are as devoted to the life of the mind, and the life of culture, as anybody else in the country. ”

- Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in today's Globe and Mail. Definitely promising, but as is always the case, let's keep an eye on the follow through.

(h/t @macleansmag)

Three Hot Meals a Day...

A very special hat tip to Tyler Butler for posting this hilarious Fry & Laurie video. Tyler asks whether the video is simply a hilarious sketch or relevant Alberta political commentary (pertaining to Bill 44).

I say both.

Check it for sure.

Fort Mac MP's Thoughts on Fort Chipewyan's Health Concerns

Brian Jean, MP for Fort McMurray-Athabasca (which includes Fort Chipewyan) shares his thoughts regarding Fort Chipewyan's health concerns in a recent issue of Slave River Journal (h/t George Poitras via facebook):

Chip Health Concerns Inconclusive: Jean
By SHAWN BELL, SRJ Reporter

The MP responsible for Fort Chipewyan says while concerns about cancer in the community are valid, information is inconclusive and further studies need to be done.Brian Jean, MP for Fort McMurray-Athabasca, says he has been keeping close watch on the health concerns in Fort Chipewyan for the past three years but hasn’t heard anything conclusive enough to warrant immediate action.

“Right now the studies have not proved anything, including health effects,” Jean said. “I’ve looked closely at the statistical data, and overall the numbers are very close to the Alberta average.”While he acknowledges the federal government’s responsibility for First Nations in Fort Chipewyan, Jean pointed out the responsibility for industry rests on the province, making it difficult to determine who is responsible overall. Besides, the MP said there needs to be further examination of the potential causes.“We don’t know what the causation is,” Jean said. “Is it Uranium City, or what has been happening across the lake, or the Bennett dam, or the oilsands that have been leaking for 10,000 years before we got here? The evidence is inconclusive.”

Jean said he was promised a new report that would conclusively describe health problems in Fort Chipewyan during his meeting with community stakeholders two weeks ago, but hasn’t received it. Yet he emphasized the federal government is taking the issues of water and air pollution very seriously. “This is of great concern to us,” he said. “We’ve acted very aggressively on water and air quality.”And he assured that no matter the discussion of government responsibility in Fort Chipewyan, if environmental issues are shown to be directly related to health, action will be taken immediately.

In the meantime Jean believes better records of health concerns must be kept.“I think good records have not been kept in Fort Chipewyan,” he said.

Jean is right in the sense that no study exists that conclusively proves causation between environmental toxicity and the community's health. Currently, a government study indicates an abnormal cancer and rare cancer rate among residents, and industry and independent assessment of toxicity levels in and around Fort Chipewyan indicate toxins far exceeding safe and acceptable levels. These studies, as Jean readily admits, validates the community's concerns, but does not compel the government towards any immediate action to address the situation.

However, the residents of Fort Chipewyan are well aware of this. That is why they have been calling for a comprehensive, independent and peer reviewed study that assesses the link between the environment and the community's health for years. But, the provincial and federal government has not yet responded to their requests.

Let's work through this again slowly.

Jean claims that immediate action is unwarranted because there is no evidence indicating causation. In order to obtain evidence of causation, a study needs to be conducted. However, both the provincial and federal government (of which Jean is a member) refuses to initiate in any such study. So, lacking the expertise and resources, the community is left to demonstrate causation itself, as both level of governments refuse to carry out this task themselves.

Humour me for a moment.

Can you imagine that if government, independent and industry studies indicated that residents of a Calgary neighborhood nearby a toxic dump, were reporting abnormal cancer and rare cancer rates, as well as toxicity levels far exceeding safe and acceptable levels, the community would have to demonstrate a causal link on its own? There would be no way. The government would step in to conduct a study and do all that it could to address the concerns of the residents. Just the way it should be. There is enough evidence, as Jean himself suggests, to warrant a a comprehensive, independent and peer reviewed study, but the government has been less than forthcoming to initiate one.

So, what makes Fort Chipewyan different? This is the most important question. How come politicians can claim that the community's concerns are valid, yet not legitimate enough to warrant a comprehensive environmental-health study, even though government reports call for one? Is it Fort Chipewyan's lack of political significance? The fear over what might be discovered? Or is it something more legitimate?

Answers that can only come from our elected officials and must be provided before they refuse to address Fort Chipewyan's concerns. Or question the community's health records.

Canadian Church Leaders Raise Alarm Bell Over Alberta's Oilsands

After recently conducting a tour through northern Alberta to learn more about the oilsands, Canadian Church leaders have added their voice to a growing chorus of individuals and groups calling for the Alberta government to change its current oilsands development policy. Although their recommendations and findings are not new, the delegation of 10 Church leaders plans to raise their concerns with federal government officials this fall.

Among the issues that the delegation plans to raise are the concerns of the northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan. Residents believe that surrounding oilsands development projects have contaminated their ecosystem, which has led to rare and abnormally high cancer rates within the community. Subsequent government, industry and independent studies corroborate the view of residents. However, the Alberta government maintains that northern Alberta oilsands development projects are not polluting their surrounding ecosystems and the abnormal cancer rates among Fort Chipewyan residents are not the result of environmental factors.

The study released by the delegation of Canadian Church leaders expressed grave concern regarding what is occurring within Fort Chipewyan:

“In Fort Chipewyan, people told us of rare illnesses, the growing number of deaths from cancer and frightening changes to local ecology. We saw how rapidly the graveyard is filling up. People in Fort Chipewyan need answers about why this is happening and how it can be prevented.”

Currently, leaders are contemplating whether to ask “the federal government to conduct an independent review of how Alberta's oilsands are affecting people and the environment,” something that the community and other groups have been demanding for. The pressure for an independent review will likely increase, as the Federal Court has ordered oilsands companies to disclose their pollution data, something these companies were previously not required to do.

For the community, and Albertans as a whole, these should be welcomed developments. A sustainable oilsands development strategy and understanding the environmental consequences of oilsands development are likely the major policy issues facing the province, and certainly the ones that have caused the most controversy. However, the provincial government has been unwilling to engage in either. Perhaps increased pressure at the federal level will lead to some much needed change.

Edmonton Tamil Forum Hosting Public Forum

Edmonton's Tamil Forum will be hosting a Public Forum concerning the recent humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka. Speakers include an array of human rights and humanitarian experts (including: Ms. Karen Parker, Chief Counsel of the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers and Mr. John Argue, Amnesty International Canada's Coordinator for Sri Lanka), as well as influential Tamil-Canadians. The forum will be held Saturday, June 27 at the Raddisson Hotel Edmonton South in the Jubilee Ballroom (4440 Gateway Blvd. NW), beginning at 10:00 a.m. and ending at 4:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

Tory Ethnic Pandering Hurts Canada on World Stage

An interesting article by CanWest's Peter O'Neil regarding the Conservative government's recent attempts to win over influential ethnic communities in Canada by reshaping Canadian foreign policy to their liking, which has the potential to lead to detrimental international consequences for the country. Of note was Carleton University professor David Carment's discussion concerning 'diaspora politics.' Carment claims that 'diaspora politics is the No. 1 issue that Canada will have to confront in the 21st Century.'

Check it out.

Picture Post: Edmonton's Persian Community Holds Candlelight Vigil For Slain Iranian Pro-Democracy Demonstrators

I attended today's candlelight vigil, held by Edmonton's Persian community, for those Iranians slain in recent pro-democracy demonstrations. Although I unfortunately missed the speech portion of the event, I had the opportunity to speak to some Persian-Canadians in attendance. They relayed to me stories from friends and relatives in Iran, as well as their fears concerning the lives of those friends and relatives. But, they also remained committed to raising awareness to what's happening in Iran and support those in the country protesting against last week's election results. A rally is set to be held tomorrow (Saturday, June 20) at the legislature from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Brown Guys Have No Game

Check out this hilarious short film my good friend Shawn Kanungo made. He released it at this year's Edmonton Mosquers, and won the top comedy prize. Here it is, "Brown Guys Have No Game":

Iran and Twitter

Like many of you out there, I have been following the events transpiring in Iran extremely closely. Yet, rather than using mainstream media sources as my primary source for news updates, I am consulting sources such as Youtube and Twitter (especially Twitter: #IranElection) much more frequently. This is because these sources provide updates quicker than the traditional sources, but also the opportunity to actively participate in the movements.

For example, when mainstream networks were still speculating whether anyone was hurt during a recent rally, Iranians had already tweeted this fact along with videos of gunmen firing into crowds and people who had been shot being rushed to hospitals. Further, Iranians had tweeted that they needed help from outsiders, to disseminate information, find proxy servers, and even donate bandwidth. And numerous people outside Iran helped out. Thus, Twitter has allowed for people outside of Iran to actively participate in the movement.

And according to Clay Shirky during a Q&A with TED, this is what makes the movement in Iran unprecedented, and to me, phenomenal. I suggest you read Clay's thoughts, as he provide more depth and clarity on the issue than I can.

Here is a little sample:

"I'm always a little reticent to draw lessons from things still unfolding, but it seems pretty clear that ... this is it. The big one. This is the first revolution that has been catapulted onto a global stage and transformed by social media."

(h/t: @journalistjeff @DuncanKinney)

The Aga Khan's UofA Convocation Address

In case you missed it, here is Aga Khan’s U of A convocation address, which was delivered last Tuesday and was partially reprinted in today’s Edmonton Journal. The Aga Khan discussed major challenges the world, which has become increasingly interconnected, faces today. What stood out to me was his discussion of pluralism. He argues that increased understanding of other peoples and cultures, can reduce the ignorance that has led too much of the problems we currently face today, with educational institutions playing a central role in combating this ignorance.

I thought it was a phenomenal address, eloquently crafted and containing some deep insight.

WORTH A READ, FO SURE.