Environment committee  First, I want to specify that I'm a wildlife biologist and not an expert in human health. Welcome to the world of science, where a study conducted by an individual or group contradicts another study. It's the nature of science. It's the case everywhere, whether we're dealing with oil sands or cancer cases in Fort Chipewyan.

Environment committee  The two main forms of mercury are inorganic mercury, to which animals in the environment don't have access, and organic mercury, which is methylated. The mercury accumulates in organisms and causes neurotoxic effects, especially in women and small children. The mercury cycle is therefore complex.

Environment committee  Certainly we've been looking at the impacts of PAHs, not only in northern Alberta but also in the Slave River delta and the Northwest Territories, up the Mackenzie River to the Mackenzie River delta and the Mackenzie communities, so we are looking. Also, I have done a lot of work in Hamilton Harbour on the double-crested cormorants.

Environment committee  None are currently being taken.

Environment committee  Thank you for the question. The main reason why these compounds should be included on the list of priority substances is that the compounds are very bioaccumulative in the waterfowl and animals consumed by the first nations. Once the body absorbs and metabolizes the compounds, they transform into mitogenic compounds that cause cancer.

Environment committee  Thank you. Essentially, the precautionary principle just needs to move beyond the traditional list of substances, simply for one reason, talking about those PAHs. We've often modelled the bioaccumulation of these compounds based on the 16 U.S. EPA priority substances already on the list.

Environment committee  Definitely.

Environment committee  I believe it would, yes.

Environment committee  Sorry for being underdressed. I wasn't sure what to expect today.

Environment committee  They're any contaminant or any toxin that is bioavailable to wildlife and wildlife consumers. For those communities that are remote—and there was some mention that 60% of indigenous communities in Canada are remote communities—their refrigerator's actually in the backwoods. They're drinking the water and eating the wildlife.

Environment committee  I believe that there's a good intention to work together, but I believe that the mechanisms by which things are facilitated to allow for this integration across governments especially is lacking.

Environment committee  Thank you for your question. Yes, Environment Canada is involved in monitoring the impacts of sewage effluents. I guess some of the main concerns with sewage effluents are about antibiotics, birth controls, and these kinds of endocrine disrupters, compounds that will disrupt the endocrine system or the hormone system.

Environment committee  To be brief, we've mentioned that PAHs are carcinogenic, teratogenic, and immunogenic compounds, especially when they're being metabolized. It's those metabolites that are the toxic principles in those mixtures. With the fish, we're seeing increased incidence of liver tumours and neoplasm skin lesions that are scaring the community.

Environment committee  Slide 6 basically speaks to increased depositional patterns of mercury in the northern environments of Fort McMurray and into the Peace-Athabasca Delta where the people of the Mikisew Cree First Nation are living. This slide speaks about mercury, but like mercury, other substances—like PAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic compounds—are also increasing.