Good morning, everyone. My name is Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro. I'm calling from Fort Chipewyan, Alberta.
I would like to echo Chief Adam's words. I too will be going past my allotted five minutes in respect to the seriousness of the situation that is occurring in the community at this time.
With that, I'd like to thank you all for inviting me to speak today. My name is Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. I am joined today by Melody Lepine, who is the director of our government and industry relations department. She will assist me with answering any questions you may have.
First of all, we would like to take this opportunity to express our frustration and critical concerns regarding the Imperial Oil Kearl oil sands project's tailings leak of toxic substances into our environment and how that has been poorly handled. We say that because we as a community, as Chief Adam mentioned as well, were notified only 10 months later, and that is totally unacceptable. For that, I too, as the chief of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, should have been notified as soon as it occurred.
It is important that we keep the crisis in context, and that context is the constant lack of necessary federal protection of our environment, rights and health in the face of what is now 1.4 trillion litres of liquid waste located near rivers, wetlands, lakes and groundwater that flows downstream to our community and ultimately to the Arctic. Try writing down that number. That's 1,400,000,000,000 litres. That is a lot of zeros.
First, as a bit of background, the Mikisew Cree First Nation is the largest Treaty 8 first nation in the oil sands region. Our traditional territory has a convergence of federal interests.
One, it is home to Canada's largest national park, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Two, it contains important transboundary waters. Three, it provides one of North America's most important migratory bird pathways. Four, it includes iconic species like caribou and wood bison. Five, it is made up of a system of lakes, rivers and wetlands that support important fish species and fish habitat.
Six, it contains some of the largest industrial projects in Canada. These projects produce huge amounts of greenhouse gases and all manner of contaminants, including some that are or should be regulated under CEPA, 1999. When Mikisew signed Treaty 8 in 1899, we committed to a partnership with the Crown. We agreed to work in partnership around our land and resources with Canada, and the Crown agreed not to interfere with our ability to exercise our treaty rights and agreed to make sure we have the land and waters we need to maintain our way of life. Those are the rights to be protected under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Committee members, we are here today to tell you that the promises the Crown made to us are not being met and that Parliament and the federal government must do more.
I must add that I am the chief of the elder who was mentioned by Chief Adam, and today is going to be a very emotional day for the family and for the first nation of the Mikisew Cree. Since this incident happened last May—I was newly elected in October but as a community member—I noticed the spike in cancer in the last year. For a lot of people whose cancer had gone into remission, it also came back to them. There was a recent spike in bile duct cancer, the rarest form of cancer known.
When our people get treated, all it does is speed up death for them. I know that. I've seen it first-hand in one of my best friends when I was by his bedside as he succumbed to this illness that nobody knows how to treat. This is what we encounter in the community.
The spring runoff is the most vital time for our people. As we harvest fish, meat, vegetation and traditional medicine from the land, how can we get assurance that this is okay for our people to sustain their way of life?
The current crisis shows the failures on multiple fronts, and we fear that Kearl is just the tip of the iceberg. We are bracing for even more catastrophic events unless there are real reforms. I think this is not only a Kearl issue; this is about all industries that have tailings ponds. We are putting you on notice today that we will not take this. This will be a one-and-done thing because, as Chief Adam has said, is Canada ready to move us and the Mikisew people to a safe haven?
Summer is coming. There are going to be kids swimming in the lake. All the RMWB does is test the water that comes out of the taps. Who can give me certainty that when these kids go in the water in the springtime and summertime and swim, they're going to be safe? That's what we want as a community.
One of the clearest lessons from this crisis that grew is that it has reconfirmed the AER is a captured regulator that is simply not a trusted partner in protecting federal interests in our community. Living in an indigenous community in the oil sands and downstream from it, I can tell you that it is appalling that Alberta has done so very little to manage the escalating growth and scale of these massive toxic ponds that seep into our natural environment and watersheds. This creates risk to our way of life, to nationally important ecosystems and to the well-being of Canadians.
Let me give you some examples of how the AER is failing us and all of Canada. They had information about this seepage for what now appears to be years without sharing any notice or data with us or the federal government. The AER has had data showing seepage from ponds for years and confirming seepage moving beyond the seepage interception systems but has taken no action. The AER ignored clear findings of the joint review panel for the Kearl project. We still struggle to get sufficient data from the AER regarding the Kearl event, and the AER is allowing Imperial to limit data gathering and sharing.
The federal government's response has been better. Indigenous Services Canada has taken important steps around crisis access to drinking water and mental health supports, and the Environment Minister has listened to us to try to build a path forward that recognizes us as real partners. However, the Kearl crisis shows that Canada's regulatory system is not blameless either. Canada's response to the crisis has been hampered by provincial failures to share information and follow clear findings of the Kearl joint review panel. Why is that?
Also, Canada has had many opportunities to be better prepared but either hasn't taken critical actions or has been too slow to act. Let me highlight a few.
It has been more than five years since the UN's World Heritage Committee requested a risk assessment of tailings ponds. Why?
It has been more than a decade since our communities requested a health study, which could have led to federal protections. That's why the Mikisew people, when we sent a letter to Mr. Prime Minister about a month ago, requested that we get on with the health study, especially with what's going on now and with the recent spike of cancers in the community.
Federally supported scientists have identified seepage from tailings ponds into fish-bearing waters for more than a decade, with no improvements to regulations or laws.
There are existing federal tools, like agreements under the Fisheries Act, that could help with information sharing, but they haven't been actioned.
In 2019, the Teck Frontier joint review panel called on Canada to undertake more monitoring and research in the region because of the threats to the Wood Buffalo National Park world heritage site, but action is still needed.
Committee members, as you investigate the many failures around the Kearl crisis, it is important that you not lose sight of the human cost here. Most if not all of the Mikisew Cree are, for a good portion of their time, occupying and exercising their treaty rights on the land, including the land being impacted by Imperial Oil and by the numerous tailings ponds littered along the Athabasca River.
My members are scared. We have people who are scared to drink their water, and we aren't even sure how long our supply of drinking water is going to last in Fort Chip. People are stressed out. They are worried about their health. You've probably heard about all of the rare cancers in Fort Chip. That's where people's minds go when something like this happens.
There are impacts to our way of life. We've been living off these lands and waters for generations. In Fort Chip, we still eat lots of traditional foods. We need to trust our land and water to fish and hunt. We need that certainty.
The situation has broken that, and it is important for all of you to understand that we are significantly impacted by this issue. Our interests are both immediate and long term. The alarming issue of leaking tailings ponds is of serious concern to the Mikisew people, because governments aren't doing their part to protect our rights and our environment.
Committee members, we wish to ensure that the integrity and health of our environment and our people are protected, and that means protecting the fish-bearing waters in the oil sands and protecting our river systems. It means safeguarding sources of our drinking water and better regulating the massive threats posed by the these huge tailings areas. It means transparent and robust information sharing.
I am sure many of you are wondering what the Mikisew are asking for. We are simply asking for certainty that those leaking tailings ponds will be fully cleaned up, that no contaminants, which may pose any risk to our health and livelihood, will reach our traditional foods and drinking water and that our waters will be safe to drink and use. We are asking for certainty for the health of our people, certainty about the way our land will look and function in the future and certainty that we will be able to continue our way of life on the land and that our rights will be protected as was promised to us in 1899.
All of this can only happen if Canada takes real steps to ensure our community is part of a process in overseeing this urgent situation and is involved in the way oil sands development will continue in our region. It can only happen if there starts to be real accountability and transparency around this situation and all the tailings ponds.
Thank you, committee members.