Summer Post 2008

1the Post • A P A R K L A N D I N S T I T U T E P U B L I C A T I O N SPRING/SUMMER 2008

EDITORIAL, page 2

LETTERS, page 3

ENVIRONMENTThe limits to growth: a re-examination, page 4The tar sands and Canada’s food system, page 7

the

PostA P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E P A R K L A N D I N S T I T U T E

the

PostVolume XI, N˚2,Spring/Summer 2008

INSIDE THE POST

See RECLAMATION page 8

JOYCE HILDEBRAND

Reclamation illusions in oil sands countrySee HUNGRY WORLD page 6

With escalating oil prices, population growth, and mounting concern for the environment, people are questioning how eff ectively this system off ers food security - the ability to access safe, nutritious food through a sustainable system.

Alberta in a hungry worldA look at food security

The food system in Alberta is ripe for change. Canadian policies and practices support an energy-intensive system of production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste disposal. With food traveling an average of 1,500 miles before reaching our dinner plates, and with our access dominated by big-box grocery stores largely fi lled with imported goods, we are distanced from our source of food and dependent on imports.

STEPHANIE DAVID

With escalating oil prices, population growth, and mounting concern for the environment, people are questioning how eff ectively this system off ers food security - the ability to access safe, nutritious food through a sustainable system. More people are considering the real costs of production, opening the door for greater awareness of the food system. In the process, more people are realizing the importance of eating fresh, local, and oft en organic food.

Many have identifi ed the growing and marketing of food at the community level as crucial to food security. Community gardens, urban agriculture and farmer’s markets have grown all over Alberta. Darlene Cavanaugh, executive director of the Alberta Farmer’s Market Association, explains that there are over 100 approved markets in Alberta, ranging anywhere from ten to 200 vendors. Th e association provides insurance for vendors, as well as training and leadership for producers and

market managers. It also ensures that the markets contain 80 per cent locally made, grown or baked products. A commitment to local producers and consumers is at the basis of this practice.

Growing Food Security in Alberta (GFSA) is another organization that has brought food security to the forefront of the struggle for sustainability. One project of GFSA is community-building for food security, in which rural Albertans are encouraged to identify challenges to the food security of that particular area, and then determine ways to address these issues. Th is project uses techniques such as the creation of community gardens and educational workshops.

“Our hope is that in working with rural communities, we can help them come up with individual solutions that are sustainable,” says Project Assistant Angie Dedric.

Despite these eff orts, it is diffi cult to gain access to Canadian and especially local food. Our tendency to favour large-scale agricultural production geared to an export industry has lead to our reliance on importing the food we need in order to survive.

If you want to know how hard it is to eat local, just ask Edmontonian Ivor Mackay, who recently challenged himself to the 100-mile diet. Having spent the last year eating goods that were 100 per cent local, he is an expert on the food system and its limitations.

After more than 40 years of scraping away swathes of trees, muskeg, and soil in northeastern Alberta to get at the tarry black gold underneath, Alberta’s fi rst oil sands reclamation certifi cate was fi nally issued in March to great applause. Roughly 1 km2 of land (104 ha), Syncrude’s Gateway Hill, was declared “reclaimed” by the Government of Alberta.

But there are many reasons to mute the trumpets. First, this certificate

Lack of legislation, fi nancial preparedness, underline reclamation eff orts

represents a miniscule 0.2 per cent of the land disturbed for oil sands mining – almost 480 km2 as of 2006. Second, the reclaimed area was a dumping ground for “overburden,” earth removed to get at the ore beneath; reclaiming tailings ponds will present a much greater – and perhaps insurmountable – challenge (see sidebar on page 9).

And third, reclamation does not mean restoration. Syncrude’s reclaimed site bears little resemblance to the original boreal forest ecosystem.

ALBERTA UP CLOSEInside Hobbema, page 4Profi le of an Albertan: Susan Desserud, page 10

the Post • A P A R K L A N D I N S T I T U T E P U B L I C A T I O N 2 WINTER 2008

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Parkland Institute is an Alberta wide research network that examines issues of public policy. The Institute is based in the Faculty of Arts at the Universityof Alberta and its research network includes members from most of Alberta’s academic institutions and other organizations involved in public policy research. It operates within the established and distinctive tradition of Canadian political economy and is non-partisan. Parkland was founded in 1996 and its mandate is to:· Conduct research on economic,

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Volume XI, N˚2, Spring/Summer 2008

Caitlin Crawshaw

editorial

A little green goes a long wayWhile environmental issues feel daunting, there’s lots you can do (like reading this issue before recycling it)

When I put out the trash and recycling for the garbage collectors every week, I’m astounded by the volume of waste. Despite my attempts to reduce my use of plastic bags, individually wrapped foodstuffs and to eat all of my vegetables, my family produces several large bags of waste every week.

And so do my neighbours. As I scan the alley on garbage day, I spot bags and bags and bags and bags of junk. I’m happy to report that generally most of these bags are blue, but too many others are garbage bags fi lled with chunks of Styrofoam, old pizza, pounds of cat litter, diapers. All destined for the landfi ll.

Th ere are more than 3 million people in Alberta, and I would guess that most back alleys in the province look something like mine – a mix of black and blue bags. It’s evidence of some degree of eff ort, but not a full commitment to the cause. It illustrates that most of us put in some effort when it’s easy (what’s easier than throwing random recyclables into a bag?).

But only when it’s easy. We’re still got hummers and SUVs sitting in our garages, and we wait for 20 minutes to be served in the Tim Horton’s drive through. We buy individually wrapped lunch snacks and spray round-up on our dandylions. We buy and buy and buy – new outfi ts, DVDs, furniture, shoes, cat toys and other assorted whatsits we don’t need.

As environmental issues continue to escalate, our limited attempts to “go green” just aren’t enough. Th e good old college try is better than nothing, but it really isn’t good enough – as individuals, and as a society, we’ve got to do better.

And unless we’ve been making a conscious effort to be ignorant, we all know what needs to be done. Don’t drive (or as much). Give up the dream of a perfect lawn. Cook a meal, for a change. Recycle. Compost. Th e list goes on. Even people who are committing to doing what they want when they want are well-versed in these things.

But we’re all guilty of neglecting these things. Even the socially conscious sometimes forget the list. Some of my left y friends are into wearing used clothes or wearing hemp, yet happily drive to the corner store for a carton of milk. Few people within my circle take the bus. We complain that it’s too cold here, in Alberta, and that the bus routes suck. But how many of us are lobbying government for better public transportation?

And I freely admit that I’m culpable too. While I am a proud bus rider, there are plenty of moments when I toss cans into public trash cans when I could’ve taken

them home to recycle, or days when I’ve failed to map out a route and ended up driving around in circles, wasting fuel. I’ve even been known to buy coff ee in a Styrofoam cup.

So, why is it that we’re not - to use a cliché – getting with the program? We know that the arctic is melting and the incidence of skin cancer is rising and our children’s bodies are fi lling with chemicals. We hear the terrifying warnings, courtesy of Al Gore, Greenpeace and scientists around the world. And yet there are still Albertans who argue that climate change is a myth (ignoring our dry winters and cold summers, apparently).

My hope is that this issue of the Post will motivate you to analyze what you can improve upon in your own life – everything from the trash you throw away to what you understand about the environmental issues around us. Issues like the oilsands can make us feel hopeless and worry that our individual eff orts are in vain - but even small, daily changes add up fast. If each of us stands up for the environment, we could even push the Alberta government in a greener direction and hold the PCs responsible for their terrible environmental history.

In this issue, you’ll fi nd many diff erent perspectives the environmental problems

facing us. Frank Postill’s essay examines the modern relevance of a classic environmental text that predicted our current resource troubles more than 30 years ago (p.4). Stephanie David’s exploration of food security in Alberta (p.1) reveals that our current means of food production and distribution is untenable. Land reclamation is unraveled by Joyce Hildebrandt (p.1), a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, who argues that it’s not only a fl awed concept, but an obligation that companies aren’t taking seriously –

no one is saving appropriately for the huge sums needed for reclamation eff orts.

I hope you enjoy the issue and urge you to let us know what you thought of the content or issues represented. We welcome both compliments and constructive criticism, so feel free to e-mail the Post at [email protected].

Caitlin CrawshawCoordinating editor

General linksWhere your stuff comes from – and goes – and why we should care:www.thestoryofstuff.comGreenpeace:www.greenpeace.orgAl Gore’s personal site:www.algore.comSome of the planet’s smartest people weighing in on anything and everything (including the environment)www.ted.comTar Sands Watch:www.tarsandswatch.org

Alberta sitesEdmonton’s most environmentally friendly home:http://www.riverdalenetzero.ca/Clean Calgary:www.cleancalgary.org/Sustainability efforts in Okotoks:http://www.okotoks.ca/sustainable/solar/SolarEnergy.aspThe Pembina Institute:www.pembina.org

... unless we’ve been making a conscious effort to be ignorant, we

all know what needs to be done. Don’t drive (or as much). Give up the dream of a perfect lawn.

Cook a meal, for a change. Recycle. Compost. The list goes on. Even

people who are committing to doing what they want when they want are

well-versed in these things.

Local environmentalist and solar power expert Gordon Howell has done a lot of refl ecting on our inability to act en masse. A large part of the problem is culture, he says. People do as other do - this gives them license to drive huge vehicles and live in fancy new houses. Th e behaviour our society gives us tacit permission to behave badly despite our knowledge of the risks.

“Th ere are lots of reasons for them to care (about the environment). But they probably don’t, unless they’ve actually encountered specifi c reasons that show them what a mess they’re making,” Howell says.

In other parts of the world, water and energy rationing is a fact of life. But in Alberta, we turn on the faucet and fi nd a seemingly endless supply of clean water; we turn up our thermostats and warm ourselves. Without this fi rst hand experience, environmental problems seem far away, and most people don’t change their behaviour, says Howell.


letters to the editor

Each year, at about this time, the Fraser Institute calculates the day of the year when taxpayers fi nally start working for themselves aft er paying the total tax bill imposed on them by governments. Th ey call it “Tax Freedom Day.” Th eir cause is taken up by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Th e implication is that any money we pay in taxes goes to benefi t only someone in government. Th ey conveniently ignore the reality that without taxes we would have no roads or streets unless we were prepared to pay a toll every time we used them. We would have no policing, postal, or fi re protection services. We would have no public airports, harbours, parks, museums or libraries. We would have no food, drug, safety or other inspection services. Students would be “free” to educate themselves at their own cost, as there would be no public schools. We would have no public health care, so we could be “free” to pay exorbitant private health care insurance premiums or else go without health care coverage. Disadvantaged people would be “free” to cast themselves upon the tender mercies of charity, or else turn to crime to survive, as there would be no welfare programs. Th ese are but some of the “freedoms” we would enjoy if the wealthy elite would have their way.

I fi nd it interesting that while the Fraser Institute expresses concern over taxes that are paid, they show little anxiety over the fact that many very wealthy Canadians avoid paying their fair share of taxes by using tax havens, or by taking advantage of questionable tax rulings. As a result, ordinary Canadians are compelled to pay more, in order to meet the fi nancial requirements of our country.

While I don’t approve of the corruption, patronage, and ineffi ciencies prevalent in some of our governments, I am grateful to be living in a country where governments are, relatively speaking, more compassionate toward citizens than in other nations. I believe we must remain vigilant that we are not deceived by those who hide behind the ‘freedom’ cliché while seeking to enhance their own wealth and power.

William DascavichEdmonton, Alta.

Tax ‘freedom’ would cause civic life to decay

In late May, Wyoming Governor Fruendthal and US Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins were special guests at the Western Premiers’ Conference (WPC) in Prince Albert and joined in discussions on “the border and energy security and supply.”

A month earlier, Wilkins was part of a delegation representing the Pacifi c Northwest Economic Region (PNWER), and was in Alberta and Saskatchewan for meetings with elected representatives and senior offi cials of the provincial government. PNWER, consisting of Yukon, Alberta, BC, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Alaska and Idaho, has a trading base of some 20 million people and a GNP of $700 billion.

Th en, on May 21, 2008, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall went looking for funds from his ‘big oil’ friends in Alberta, bringing home pockets full of money and promises to keep the royalties on our oil low. Did he also bring marching orders to sign on to TILMA – that secret Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement signed by BC and Alberta on April Fool’s Day, 2006 – an agreement that’s so good that no one, including the media, is talking about it?

TILMA’s goal in life is to ‘grease the skids’ of the next stage of NAFTA, the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), and the ultimate loss of our sovereignty through integration into the one-currency, one-fl ag, one-world mentality of the North American Union (NAU). Once signed, TILMA forces local governments to bring provincial regulations down to the lowest common denominator, region by region, bringing the entire country into compliance with Canada’s international trade agreements. . . all dictated by the blind need of huge corporations for continued wealth.

Th rough public consultations in June, 2006, Saskatchewan people told the government that TILMA was a bad deal and then-Premier Calvert declined to sign on to this unconstitutional ‘integration by stealth.’ Even Wall announced that the Sask Party would not sign onto TILMA “in its current form,” (incorrectly) thinking that the terms of TILMA can be negotiated.

So, does Premier Wall now have the courage, wisdom and leadership to honour the wishes of the people of Saskatchewan and say “No to TILMA”...or will he cave in to PNWER? Any bets? Elaine HughesArcherwill, Sask.

Pressure is on for Alberta and Saskatchewan to sign TILMA


environment

The rapid rise in food prices, especially rice and

wheat, has resulted in food riots in the poorer countries of the world while here, in North

America, our own poor are feeling the pinch.

Th e planet is fi nite in its resources, in its ability to produce food, and in its capacity to absorb our wastes. Yet, population and industrial output continue to grow exponentially. Th e confl ict arising from these realities is now becoming apparent. Food and petroleum products are becoming rapidly more expensive and the concentration of greenhouse gases continue to rise.

Th e rapid rise in food prices, especially rice and wheat, has resulted in food riots in the poorer countries of the world while here, in North America, our own poor are feeling the pinch.

Th e possibility that these very problems would appear was predicted more than 30 years ago in a best-selling book called Th eLimits to Growth, a report for Th e Club of Rome’s Project on the Predicament of Mankind, authored by Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jørgen Randers and William Behrens. Th e Club of Rome was formed in 1968 by an Italian industrialist and a Scottish scientist in order to better understand the global system in which we live and to bring this understanding to the world’s policymakers and the public.

Th is predicament was, and still is, that while mankind has knowledge of all of the socioeconomic problems challenging the world, it’s unable to solve them:

It is the predicament of mankind that men can perceive the problematique, yet despite his considerable knowledge and skill, he does not understand the origins, signifi cance, and interrelationships of many of its many components and thus is unable to devise eff ective responses. Th is failure occurs in large part because we continue to examine single items in the problematique without understanding the whole is more than the sum of its parts, that change in one element means change in the others.

Th e book focuses on fi ve interrelated factors, including: industrialization, population, food supply, resource usage and pollution. Essentially, the book makes the case that the world is fi nite and therefore the prevailing exponential growth of any of these entities is unsustainable and therefore must reach a limit.

To better understand the dynamic system that is our world, a computer model was designed by Jay W. Forrester of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study these fi ve factors and to project their trends into the future. A description of the model, as well as the outputs of this model under varying parameters, form a part of this book. This work resulted in three conclusions. Firstly, if the present growth trends in world population, industrialization, pollution, food production and resource depletion continue, the planet’s limits to growth will be reached sometime in the next 100 years. The authors add that “the most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity.”

Th e predicted sudden decline of both population and industrial capacity is obviously not yet apparent. Still, an examination of the computer model’s projections, in graphical form, help show the reasons behind this alarming conclusion.

The limits to growth: A re-examinationA look at the classic book that can still change the world

FRANK POSTILL

This graph, part of The Limits to Growth’s Figure 15, depicts atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. On it is shown the actual in the year 2000.

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environment

Food production and consumption are unequally distributed among the diff erent areas of the world. Many people in the developing world die of starvation or the eff ects of malnutrition, many others live on a subsistence diet. Th e limits of food production are approached in much of the world.

The industrial ized nations are approaching a diff erent limit to growth, easily obtained energy, and are reacting to this problem, in part, by producing bio-fuels, fuels from agriculture. If this trend of diverting food from human consumption continues it will have to be off set by an increase in the production of foods, as the Th e Limits to Growth explains:

...food production is increased by growth of capital, more capital requires more resources, discarded resources become pollution, pollution interferes with the growth of population and food.

of our earth. Thus, technology offsets the problem, caused by the depletion of fi nite resources, creates other problems, but ultimately does not solve the problem of attempted limitless growth in this one particular fi nite system.

Th e Limits to Growth proposes a diff erent and radical solution – self-imposed limits to growth – and terms a state with such limits as, “Th e Equilibrium State” in which ...population and capital are essentially stable, and the forces tending to increase or decrease them in a carefully controlled balance.

Since the industrial revolution, the focus has been on economic growth; it is a mantra that both nations and individuals must continuously become richer and richer and this, to the extent that a non-growing economy is labeled as stagnant or recessive. Th e largest obstacle to self-imposed limits to growth will be to overcome this mind set, to convince people and their leaders that a stable economy, in equilibrium, is a desirable prospect.

Th e Limits to Growth arrives at three conclusions. Th e fi rst was that if present trends are allowed to continue unrestricted, an abrupt decrease in the near future of both population and industrial capacity.

Th e second is: It is possible to alter these growth trends and to establish a condition of ecological and economic stability that is sustainable far into the future. Th e state of global equilibrium could be designed so that the basic material needs of each person on earth are satisfied and each person has an equal opportunity to realize his individual human potential.

And lastly: If the worlds people decide to strive for this second outcome rather than the first, the sooner they begin working to attain it, the greater will be their chances of success.

This, part of The Limits to Growth’s fi gure 36, would appear to best represent the world’s dynamics. Although only the dates 1900 and 2100 are shown, the population curve indicates a linear time scale. Th e actual populations in1970 and 2000 are shown. Th e following paragraph is subscripted:

To test the model assumption about available resources, we doubled the resource reserves in 1900, keeping all other assumptions identical to those in the standard run. Now industrialization can reach a higher level since resources

The last graph from earthpolicy.org, titled, World Grain Production Per Person, 1950-2006 displays United Nations and the USDA data. In its time frame world grain production per person reached a peak between 1980 to 1990.

Th at is, to increase food production, more land must be cleared, more fertilizer must be used, more irrigation is necessary and/or the level of mechanization must rise, all of which require capital and create pollution.

Th e production of bio-fuels is a technical response to a problem resulting from an approach to a resource limit:

Since the recent history of a large part of human society has been so continuously successful, it is quite natural that many people expect technological breakthroughs to go on raising physical ceiling indefi nitely.

But again, Faith in technology as the ultimate solution to all problems can thus divert our attention from the most fundamental problem – the problem of growth in a fi nite system – and prevent us from taking eff ective action to solve it.

Besides producing biofuels here in Alberta, we are at the same time developing the oil sands as rapidly as possible, again in an attempt to off set the decline of our hydrocarbon production. This rapid development, at a high cost of both resources and capital, produces green house gases in order to produce a product that, when consumed, produces green house gases. Th e global village has become very small and what we do here has long lasting global consequences. Th e current rise in food prices, caused in part by diverting food to the production of bio-fuels, is already producing hardship in the less developed countries. All greenhouse gases produced here reach every part

The world’s options are limited. We could, as Stephen Hawkins suggested, attempt to colonize another world, or we can continue our laissez-faire attitude and have our destiny imposed on us. Or fi nally we could, as Th e Limits to Growth proposes, modify our lifestyles and our very philosophy in order to provide future generations with a habitable planet and a continued balanced existence.

Frank Postill was born on the edge of the Red Deer River badlands, east of Trochu, Alberta. Aft er earning a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Alberta in 1962, he has divided his life between farming and engineering.

This work resulted in three conclusions. Firstly, if the

present growth trends in world population, industrialization,

pollution, food production and resource depletion continue, the planet’s limits to growth will be reached sometime in

the next 100 years.

Faith in technology as the ultimate solution to all problems can thus divert

our attention from the most fundamental problem - the

problem of growth in a fi nite system - and prevent us from

taking effective action to solve it.

are not so quickly depleted. Th e larger industrial plant releases pollution at such a rate, however, that the environmental pollution absorption mechanisms become saturated. Pollution rises very rapidly, causing an immediate increase in the death rate and a decline in food production.

Th e rise in the death rate, the decline in population and industrial capacity follow, within a few decades, a dramatic drop in food production per person.


environmentHUNGRY WORLD continued from page 1

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Mackay estimates that about 1,000-2,000 people could do the 100-mile diet in the city, but if half of the city decided to eat local, we just wouldn’t have enough food. Th at’s a scary thought when you consider the threat of a border closure in the event of a pandemic or political crisis. Because the majority of the food on grocery store shelves is imported from outside Canada, we are dependent on the economic and political stability of places such as the United States, Japan, and China for the continued supply of food.

Political leaders in Alberta have also failed to address the need to conserve farmland. Fragmentation and industrial, oil and residential development are all infringing on prime agricultural land in Alberta.

Jim Visser is a director of the Legacy Land Conservation Society, which seeks to protect farmland in the Edmonton area. Th e organization is presently focused on land north east of the city, which is currently slated for development. As Visser points out, this is some of the fi nest agricultural lands in the area and should be protected.

process” used for the Draft Land-use Framework uses a multi-stakeholder approach to land-use. Th is is problematic as it does not recognize the challenges faced by local food producers and the fragmentation of agricultural land. It exposes a fundamental flaw in our political system: the responsiveness of our representatives to business interests at the expense of Canadian citizens. In the process, transnational corporations have gained control over our food supply.

Political leaders have also failed to maintain basic food subsistence levels. Communities have banded together to provide food through food banks and community kitchens for the low-income portion of the population, those most vulnerable to changes in the food system. According to the Canadian Association of Food Banks, 32 per cent of food bank staff in Alberta is completely unpaid support.

The Hunger Count Report of the Canadian Association of Food Banks shows that almost 39,000 people in Alberta were assisted by food banks in 2007, 43 per cent of them children. The report shows that Alberta was the only province that has shown an overall increase in food bank use.

Although Alberta is a rich province, we continue to rely on food banks to provide for low-income families, instead of getting to the heart of the problem. Remarkably, 27 per cent of people who access Alberta food banks are employed - the highest level in Canada. Th is shows that wages in the province are not keeping up with infl ation, and people are shaving off their food budget to make ends meet. Statistics Canada reports that the average rate of inflation in Alberta was 6.3 per cent, about three times the national average. Political leaders need to recognize the link between poverty and food instability by raising minimum wages and providing greater access to food for low-income

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Agriculture Canada reports that there are 52,000 producers in Alberta. Most of these “farmers” however are large-scale producers focused on an export economy. Th e inability of political leaders to respond to the growing concern for local food, and the need for a transition to a sustainable system, are evidence of their failure to address the interests of the people. Developments in long-term food storage and an effi cient distribution system are overdue. Food security also means protecting our producers and processors from the volatility of the fi nancial market, to ensure their livelihood and our food supply in the face of rising gas prices and fluctuating currencies. Small farmers could diversify and localize our food supply, which would increase food security for Canadians. It would also help ease the transition away from an energy-hungry system and open avenues for more eff ective waste management.

The 2006 Census of Agriculture by Statistics Canada determined that, of the entire land base of Canada, about 10 per cent is suitable agricultural land, and only about half of that is arable, or suitable for the cultivation of crops.

Th e Draft Land-use Framework recently released by the Alberta government disregards the importance of conserving farmland. Th e report attempts to build sustainability through land allocation without ever mentioning the word ‘food’ or how we will feed millions of Albertans through a sustainable food system. Th e draft briefl y discusses the fragmentation of agricultural land in Alberta and the conversion of prime agricultural land to urban development without looking at the causes of the problem, or a real solution. Th eir inability in addressing the need to conserve farmland shows who the political leaders are actually representing.

The “comprehensive consultation

families. Food production, distribution and accessibility needs to be seen as part of the same system. We need strong political leadership to empower community-based solutions for food security, and to guide us in a new direction based on sustainable living.

National economic disparities and global instability can be buff ered by sound planning. Th e rising price of oil and the changing climate should be sounding the alarm on our reliance upon food imports. Rising global population, desertifi cation and climatic change are not just problems faced by other nations. We need to establish how we are going to feed ourselves now and in the future, and to do this, we need to gain control of our food.

Community-based food organizations have surged ahead in this struggle, and it’s time our political leaders followed the example.

For a list of Farmers Markets and locations, go to www.albertamarkets.com.

Stephanie David is a writer currently living in Edmonton. She holds a degree in Geography and Fevelopment Studies from Queen’s Univeristy and is a regular contributor to the Edmonton Journal. Her forthcoming book studies Canada in the global economy.

Strathcona Farmer’s Market in Edmonton - Photo courtesy of Stephanie David

The 2006 Census of Agriculture by Statistics Canada determined that, of the entire land base of Canada, about 10 per cent

is suitable agricultural land, and only about half of that

is arable, or suitable for the cultivation of crops.


environment

Tar sands opponents point out that burning natural gas, a relatively clean fuel, to extract oil will result in massive increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, some experts say the implications of using natural gas go far beyond global warming.

North American agriculture is deeply dependent on natural gas. Nitrogen fertilizer is chemically produced using a process that – currently – cannot be conducted effi ciently without large amounts of natural gas. Th is fertilizer, in turn, is an essential nutrient in North America’s food production system.

“In a fairly direct way, natural gas is a primary feedstock for our food supply,” says Darrin Qualman, Director of Research at the National Farmers Union.

While “peak oil,” the point at which global production of oil begins to decline, is subject to speculation, natural gas peaked in North America in 2003. Since then, more wells have been added, but production has declined slowly, while prices have increased sharply.

As a result, says Qualman, fertilizer companies are closing up shop and are moving their operations to places like Qatar, Egypt and Trinidad, where natural gas is cheap and plentiful, for now.

Canada has thus begun to import natural gas. At least 10 Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminals are planned in Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where liquifi ed gas will be brought in from Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers.

It is, he says, a cause for concern in the coming decades.

The tar sands and Canada’s food systemAre beans the only cure for natural gas?

DRU OJA JAY

“If you’re farming in Saskatchewan or Manitoba, using a fertilizer supply based on natural gas from Alberta looks workable,” says Qualman. “But if tomorrow our fertilizer is made from natural gas sourced in Russia or the Middle East, we in eff ect become dependent on offshore, highly unstable supplies for our food system.”

In terms of fueling the current food system, there are few compelling alternatives to natural gas. Coal is a possible source of nitrogen but is not nearly as efficient. In some scenarios, nuclear power plants can be used to produce fertilizer.

A more fundamental alternative, says Qualman, is to begin restructuring the food system. Traditionally, nitrogen fi xing is performed by crops like beans and chickpeas. Or, it is recycled to cropland from animal manures. Using crop rotation and natural sources to provide nitrogen and reducing energy inputs to agriculture requires changes to diets and far more intensive use of human labour.

Says Qualman, “Given the industrial food system and given a meat-based diet, nitrogen and natural gas are absolutely essential.”

Th is basic fact has global implications.Vaclav Smil, a professor of Environment

and Geography at the University of Manitoba, estimated in his 2004 book Enriching the Earth that 40 per cent of the protein in human bodies worldwide could not have been produced without the use of synthetic nitrogen. He concludes that roughly 2.5 billion of the world’s 6.7 billion people could not exist without synthetic fertilizer.

“We should be saying: ‘Show us the 100-year plan for agriculture and then show us you’ve got a surplus left over that can be used for the tar sands.’”

In theory, some of the business world seem to agree that “letting the market decide” may not be the most sound energy strategy. A January 2005 article in Canadian Business asserts, “with no long-term guidelines and no surplus capacity, the only thing the market can deliver is ‘volatility.’”

The article concludes by quoting the president of a Calgary-based LNG company, saying, “Economics 101 will solve the mess, but the trouble is, it will do so with a machete...It will hurt.”

Th is article fi rst appeared in Th e Dominion (www.dominionpaper.ca)

Dru Oja Jay is editor of the Dominion. In 2007, he spent two weeks in Fort McMurray, Fort Mackay and Fort Chipewyan. He lives in Montreal.

Th e number of people who depend on synthetic fertilizer for their existence will increase as the world population increases by an estimated 2-4 billion by 2050.

For Canada, the problem doesn’t stop at the food system.

“When you think about the Middle East using up its gas supplies,” says Qualman, “that’s a non-recoverable resource, but those places aren’t cold. Canada depends on natural gas for heating. It’s going to be cold here for thousands of years and we’re using up our natural gas supply in decades.”

According to Natural Resources Canada, nearly half of all Canadian homes - over six million households - are heated with natural gas.

Climate change – propel led by industrial projects like the tar sands – is also slated to have an adverse impact on agriculture. “Climatologists will tell you that evaporation trumps rainfall,” says Qualman. Small increases in temperature could mean much drier growing conditions on Canada’s prairies, even if rainfall increases.

Th e decision to invest huge amounts of natural gas into the tar sands will have ripple eff ects through the Canadian food system, says Qualman. “As North America becomes natural gas short, as we pass peak and become net importers, we’re going to set up a competitive trade-off between the uses of natural gas” – tar sands, food, heating and power generation among them.

“We really should have a long-term plan around fertility and food before we even think about ramping up production in the tar sands...we have to look at the next 100 years of agriculture and the next 100 years of heating.”

“If you’re farming in Saskatchewan or Manitoba,

using a fertilizer supply based on natural gas from Alberta

looks workable... But if tomorrow our fertilizer is made

from natural gas sourced in Russia or the Middle East, we in effect become dependent on offshore, highly unstable

supplies for our food system.”

“When you think about the Middle East using up its

gas supplies... that’s a non-recoverable resource, but those

places aren’t cold. Canada depends on natural gas for

heating. It’s going to be cold here for thousands of years and we’re using up our natural gas

supply in decades.”

The Parkland Institute needs volunteers from communities around Alberta. We are looking for: distribution, web page design, media listing, event organizing, promotions, fundraising and more!

To get involved call Cheri at (780) 492-8558 or email us at [email protected]

volunteers!


environmentRECLAMATION continued from page 1

A complex of forests and low-lying wetlands has been transformed into a dry, hilly upland with new trails for human use. Syncrude spokesperson Alain Moore’s statement about the site, given aft er the certifi cate was granted, speaks volumes: “If people aren’t looking closely, it blends into the natural landscape.” Is that enough? Or do we expect those who have exploited the land to restore it to its pre-disturbance state?

What does reclamation mean?In the interest of “looking closely,” let’s start with the legal meaning of reclamation – what exactly do oil sands companies have to do to qualify for a reclamation certifi cate?

According to Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) regulations, the objective of land reclamation is to return the land to “an equivalent land capability,” which means that “the ability of the land to support various land uses aft er conservation and reclamation is similar to the ability that existed prior to an activity being conducted on the land, but that the individual land uses will not necessarily be identical” (emphasis added). Th e vagueness of the language here is troubling, as is the absence of binding reclamation timelines in EPEA approvals.

“It won’t be identical to what was there before,” says Kem Singh, Alberta Environment’s regional approvals manager for the Northern Region. In fact, knowledge of “what was there before” is in many cases fragmentary and is largely industry-based. “We rely on companies themselves for the benchmark data.”

Ac c o r d i n g t o S i n g h , A l b e r t a Environment’s reclamation goal is “a kind of capability that allows for various land uses, determined on a regional basis.” One of the documents guiding the reclamation process, Guidelines for Reclamation to Forest Vegetation in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, identifi es the two primary land use objectives for reclamation as “the establishment of stands of commercial forest and the establishment of wildlife habitat.”

Another primary guiding document, Land Capability Classifi cation for Forest Ecosystems in the Oil Sands (LCCS), clarifi es which of these objectives takes priority. According to the May 2008 Pembina Institute report Fact or Fiction: Oil Sands Reclamation, “The LCCS indirectly implies that economic or productivity factors dictate the reclaimed target landscape - a forested ecosystem. Using the LCCS land and soil categories diminishes the value of wetlands and leads to a perverse situation where oil sands proponents claim there will be an improvement in land capability aft er reclamation.”

In the case of wetlands such as the McClelland Lake patterned fen, approved in 2002 for oil sands mining by Petro-Canada’s Fort Hills Oil Sands Project, the phrase “equivalent land capability” may

have to be stretched to the point of near meaninglessness. Virtually everyone agrees that no one knows how to reclaim this ecosystem to anything resembling what it is now – a rare peatland 8,000 years in the making and hydrologically connected to a number of other wetland types through both surface and groundwater.

has potential economic ramifi cations for Albertans.”

Who Foots the Bill?It took Syncrude 10 years to reclaim the 104-ha overburden plot that was certifi ed in March. Considering the much greater challenges of tailings pond and minepit

Although “the amount of security must cover the cost of reclamation in case the operator is unable to complete reclamation on the site” (Alberta Environment website), a number of problems with the Security Fund have emerged. First, oil sands reclamation research is still in its infancy – with so many unknowns about how to reclaim certain ecosystems, even to “equivalent capability,” how can the cost of reclamation be predicted with any accuracy?

Furthermore, based on our limited current knowledge, the fund appears to be woefully inadequate. Syncrude has not provided a breakdown for the cost of Gateway Hill, but in 2006 the company spent $30.5 million on reclaiming 267 hectares, or about $114,000 per hectare. According to the government’s latest Environmental Protection Security Fund Annual Report, as of March 31, a total of approximately $469 million (including cash deposits plus interest, bonds and guarantees) had been set aside for oil sands mining reclamation. With close to 48,000 ha disturbed and not certifi ed reclaimed as of 2006, that’s less than $10,000 per hectare, not even one-tenth of Syncrude’s approximate costs to reclaim perhaps the easiest of disturbed oil sands landscapes.

Tailings ponds now cover more than 50 km2 of Alberta’s boreal forest. Randy Mikula, head of tailings research at Natural Resources Canada, told the Globe and Mail, “Th ere is enough suspended clay floating in the ponds to fill a ditch 20 metres wide and 10 metres deep from Fort McMurray to Edmonton to Ottawa.” Even if it’s possible to reclaim oil sands tailings ponds – and at this point, it has never been tried – what will the price tag be?

A lot, if the Sydney Tar Sands Ponds are anything to go by. In 2004, the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia announced a 10-year, $400 million plan to clean up the ponds and coke ovens, which cover a combined area of 68 ha. Th at’s just over $6 million per hectare for clean-up – more than 600 times as much as is currently in Alberta’s reclamation piggy bank.

Faith-based approvalsIn a 2004 report, the National Energy Board stated, “Re-establishment of self-sustaining ecosystems is a major challenge in the reclamation of land disturbed by oil sands mining operations.” For us to assume that those in charge know how to reclaim natural landscapes even to an “equivalent capability” is naïve in the extreme, especially with respect to peat-based wetlands. In Alberta, we seem to be turning the precautionary principle on its head. Th e government-industry post-cautionary principle appears to be “Lack of full scientifi c certainty shall not get in the way of profi t” or “Dig now, worry about environmental consequences later.”

In its application for the Horizon project, Canadian Natural Resources made this statement: “Mitigation paired with reclamation assumes a post-project success rate of 100 per cent.... Uncertainty with reclamation methods is assumed to be resolved with ongoing reclamation monitoring and research.” Th is faith-based “winging it” approach to reclamation appears to satisfy the government departments responsible for project approvals.

“A m a z i ng ly, t he E U B and t he departments of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development accept this approach to addressing uncertainty,” said Dan Woynillowicz, a senior policy analyst with the Pembina Institute, in his September 2006 presentation to the Oil Sands Multi-stakeholder Committee in Fort McMurray. “Th is uncertainty also

reclamation, certification of current projects is many decades down the road. Given the increasing public concern about environmental issues related to fossil fuel production and consumption, it’s diffi cult to predict just what will be happening in oilsands country 40 or 50 years from now. Scientists predict that settling out the toxins from tailings ponds could take at least 150 years. Who will be left with the bill? And who will be politically accountable? Certainly not those who are now signing lease agreements and approving projects.

Th e possibility of abandoned oil sands mines a generation or two from now would not be without precedent. According to MiningWatch Canada’s May 2008 report, 2,100 abandoned coal mines have been identifi ed in Alberta and are on fi le with the provincial government. “Very few of the mines have been evaluated for physical or chemical stability, and fewer than 1 per cent of all mines have undergone remedial work,” says the report. “A conservative estimate in the mid 1990s placed the price to clean up all abandoned mines in Canada at $6 billion or higher.”

To try to ensure that Albertans won’t be left with the clean-up bill, the Government of Alberta has established an Environmental Protection Security Fund to which oil sands companies are required to contribute. Th e security, which can take the form of cash, bonds or letters of credit, is returned to the operator when the land is certifi ed reclaimed.

In Alberta, we seem to be turning the precautionary principle on its head. The government-industry post-cautionary principle appears to be “Lack of full scientifi c certainty shall not get in the way of profi t”

or “Dig now, worry about environmental consequences later.”

Scientists predict that settling out the toxins from tailings

ponds could take at least 150 years. Who will be left with

the bill? And who will be politically accountable?

Photo courtesy of Noel Keough

Photo courtesy of Joyce Hildebrand


Long-term accountability for the mess left behind, in terms of both political leadership and industry, is simply non-existent. Once a reclamation certifi cate has been granted, the government cannot issue an Environmental Protection Order (EPO) regarding conservation and reclamation for that mining site. (An EPO is an order that the administering authority may impose to prevent or minimize environmental harm; it usually requires a person or company to undertake certain actions within a specifi ed timeframe.)

Liability for contamination is currently forever, but generations from now, as tailings ponds toxins continue to settle out, who will be monitoring and enforcing regulations regarding oil sands contamination? Who will ensure that the propane cannons used to keep wildlife away from these toxic lakes (which research has shown to be an ineff ective long-term solution) are still functioning? Will the current practice of industry self-monitoring continue?

At present, a paltr y 11 Alberta Environment inspectors working out of fi eld offi ces across the province (not just in the oil sands sector) are responsible to ensure that operators comply with their approvals, Codes of Practice, or accepted conservation and reclamation practices. Th e work of these few inspectors includes responding to public complaints; inspecting sites during construction, operation and reclamation phases; and reviewing EPEA approval applications (Alberta Environment website).

The recent deaths of hundreds of migrating ducks seeking rest in a Syncrude tailings pond provided a stark picture of the devastating effects of tar sands mining on wildlife. Even before this sad event, 91 per cent of Albertans agreed in a 2007 poll conducted by Probe Research that new oil sands approvals should be suspended until infrastructure and

environmentRECLAMATION continued.

The Toxic Legacy of Tailings Ponds*The acute toxicity of Alberta’s tailings ponds is now a well-known fact. The migration of tailings toxins such as naphthenic acids through the groundwater system presents serious risks to the boreal landscape and beyond. While naphthenic acids are considered the most signifi cant environmental contaminant resulting from oil sands development, Alberta Environment has no regulations for this persistent toxin.

The two primary reclamation possibilities that regulatory authorities accept for the acutely toxic tailings waste are the creation of end pit lakes (EPLs) and integrating consolidated (that is, dewatered) tailings into the reclaimed landscape. While both are fraught with uncertainties, EPLs is the least expensive option and the one that most reclamation fantasies are based on.

The EPL narrative, set in some distant future, goes like this. When a mining project comes to a close, the last mine pit will become the permanent storage pit for mining wastes, including the contents of the notorious temporary storage lakes known as tailings ponds. This toxic deposit will be topped up to a depth of 65 to 100 m with fresh water, largely drawn from the Athabasca River. Water will drain from the reclaimed surrounding landscape into the EPL and will discharge back into the Athabasca River. Since the lake’s upper layers will presumably not mix with the lower toxic layers, the hope is that the EPL will eventually become a viable self-sustaining healthy aquatic ecosystem. EPLs will remain a permanent feature of the boreal: within the next 60 years, at least 25 EPLs are planned for the Athabasca region.

The main problem with EPLs is that they are “an unproven concept,” in the words of Pembina Institute’s May 2008 report on oil sands reclamation. “In spite of both the uncertainties and the risks, large oil sands mines that rely on end pit lakes as reclamation tools are being approved by regulators.”

Tainings FactsWater surface of Syncrude’s largest tailings pond, the Mildred Lake Settling Basin: 13 km2

Contents of the Mildred Lake Settling Basin: 400 million m3 of fi ne tailings, or 160,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools

Volume of impounded tailings now on Alberta’s landscape: 5.5 billion m3, or 2 million Olympic swimming pools

Current rate of production of oil sands tailings waste per day: 1.8 billion litres a day

Amount of total tailings produced per barrel (0.159 m3) of bitumen: 12.5 to 15.5 barrels (2 to 2.5 m3)

Total area of potential tailings ponds, including new approvals and planned projects: more than 220 km2, or fi ve times the size of Sylvan Lake

Volume of fi ne tailings produced by Suncor and Syncrude alone by 2020: 1 billion m3

Approximate volume of toxic tailings produced daily by 2015 if current extraction and tailings management remain unchanged: 7.5 million m3

Total expected volume of tailings ponds for existing and planned mines in the Athabasca region (excluding Syncrude’s Mildred Lake Mine and North and South Aurora Mines): 11.6 billion m3

*The information in this box was gleaned from Fact or Fiction, Pembina Institute’s May 2008 report on oil sands reclamation. The full report is available at www.pembina.org.

The Disappearing Boreal Disturbance footprint of the three active oil sands mining operations: 617 km2

Disturbance footprint of approved oil sands mines not yet fully operational: 723 km2

Disturbance footprint of oil sands mines currently in the application process: 1,910 km2

Total disturbance footprint of current and future oil sands mines: 3,250 km2

environmental management concerns have been addressed. Eighty-eight per cent felt that only if companies can demonstrate that they can return mined areas to the way they were before mining began should new oil sands mining projects be approved. It seems that Albertans are ready to step out from behind the word reclamation, and demand legislation and policy that will deal more eff ectively with the realities of cleaning up the mess left behind by tar sands development. What we now need is political leaders with the courage and foresight to get out in front of the parade.

Th is article fi rst appeared in the June 2008 issue of the Wild Lands Advocate.

Joyce Hildebrand works for the Alberta Wilderness Association as a conservation specialist. Her 2006 fl ight over oil sands mining operations opened her eyes to the growing crisis in Alberta’s boreal forest.

The recent deaths of hundreds of migrating ducks seeking rest in a Syncrude tailings pond provided a stark picture

of the devastating effects of tar sands mining on wildlife.

Photo courtesy of Noel Keough


alberta up close

GUIDE FLEURY

As long as there i s pover ty and unemployment in Hobbema, there will be tales of human tragedy.

Right now, approximately 70 per cent of the population is unemployed. But having grown up in the central Alberta reserve, I know that the problem isn’t that people don’t want to work – it’s because there aren’t enough jobs on the reserve for everyone. Th e only well-paying jobs involve working for the band, and there are only so many of those positions to go around.

Unemployment becomes a circular problem. Without a job, and a steady income, most people cannot work off of the reserve either, as they can’t purchase vehicles. Th eir options for work remain limited.

Without a job, the ability of many residents improve their quality of life remains poor. Frustrated, some resort to questionable behaviour to get what they need.

Those who’ve developed addictions discover that alcohol or other substances make them apathetic. After all, an addiction allows you to block out what’s going on around you and even what’s going on inside of you. Speaking up only marginalizes you or even threatens your personal safety. Nobody says anything in fear of retaliation.

Th e realization eventually dawns on you: it is best to keep quiet and to take care of yourself. The residential school system was similar to this reasoning. Focus on surviving, self-preservation. Ultimately, this created the perfect environment for Winnipeg gangs to proliferate in Hobbema.

Bureaucratic attempts to fix things haven’t worked. Right now, government support comes from Indian and Northern Aff airs Canada (INAC) and its provincial counterpart the Department of Aboriginal Aff airs (led by Gene Zwosdesky).

Th ere are also smaller municipal and private agencies, like Lokken Career College, which serve the native population in Hobbema.

Unfortunately, bureaucratic efforts haven’t worked. Money is spent on existing programs, services, and employment initiatives that are failing. Th e truth is that the bureaucrats of this province are paid

fi rst before any of that money is seen on the reserves. Th ere is no accountability for where those fi nances are going and one must question if existing agencies and departments are suffi ciently trained culturally and truly understand what native people are facing today.

A better solution might be to eliminate all agencies, departments, and bureaucrats associated with native employment or well-being, and give the funds directly to an accountable band member. That person would be associated with the bands direction and long-term goals.

Th ere are no real preventative measures set up to prevent young people from joining gangs, other that the cadets. Some join because they were not taught the skills to deal eff ectively with peer pressure. For others, it has more to do with a lack of self-esteem. In some cases, there’s little option: refusing to join can result in threats to their family until the teenager or preteen concedes. Child soldiers are not only found in Africa or the third world.

Some of these gangs exist in the penitentiary system in Alberta. While they are incarcerated is the best time to approach them with an option: rehabilitate and rest, or back into the correctional system again.

Unfortunately, the effects of being

institutionalized remain with a person in the long term, and can lead to mental health problems later. And those who are let back into the community return to fi nd that the poverty they left is here when they return.

It is going to take exceptional leadership by the four band leaders to solve the gang problem in Hobbema. I get the feeling that Hobbema is becoming a police state and there is no diff erence between that and a prison state. Now that a curfew has begun, Marshall law doesn’t seem impossible. Soon there will be a RCMP training centre here and the police will still not reside on the reserve the way community policing should be done.

On top of this, there hasn’t been much information from band leaders about what will happen. In the meantime, I wait. I try to observe the changes that everyone is talking about and most importantly, stay out of the crossfi re.

Guide Fleury earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Calgary in 2005. He remains a resident in one of the most violent reserves in Canada, and has more than 10 years of experience working in the oilfi elds.

Suzan Desserud’s life reads like a novel. At seven years old, testing revealed her to be unusually bright – brilliant, actually – with an IQ of 171.

In fact, the New Brunswick-raised child prodigy once took part in a Princeton University study of child prodigies in small communities.

By the time she was 10, symptoms of schizophrenia forced Desserud to abandon early entry to college, although she wasn’t formally diagnosed with the illness until the age of 34.

These days, she is an employee with the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta’s (SSACC) Calgary Chapter, a successful artist, and known for her outgoing personality and positivity. This Spring, Desserud shared her story with the Post at her downtown condominium in Calgary.

JA: How did you feel after passing your high school equivalency exams at age 10, effectively graduating from high school?

SD: I felt a little disappointed that I didn’t make 100 per cent on the tests. I was given a 98 per cent in Mathematics and a 99 per cent in English. I was told that they didn’t give out 100 per cent. I scored higher than adults who took the test.

JA: What followed after your passing of the exams?

SD: The school board didn’t know what to do with me, where to place me, because I was too young to go to college by myself. My parents didn’t

want to move to a large city where there were college facilities. They were scared of large cities; they preferred living in the small community of Bathurst, New Brunswick. Alvin suggested that it was okay that I stay in Grade 5 with my peers, but sit independently. He suggested that I study advanced subjects on my own until I was old enough to go to college - he thought that 13 was an appropriate age. I chose to study the subjects of physics, chemistry and geography. At 10-and-a-half years of age, symptoms of schizophrenia affected me: thought disorder and audio and visual hallucinations. The most devastating was the thought disorder that interfered with my school work. As a result, I was put back in the regular school program.

JA: Throughout and after high school and prior to your diagnosis at age 34 in 1994, how did your schizophrenia affected you?

SD: It left me isolated and alone for the most part. I had very few friends. I had no boyfriend and I never married and had no children. I dropped out from two colleges after two years of study at each, but managed to complete a degree in visual art in 1989, when I was 29 years old, from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

JA: Prior to your involvement with the SSACC, what jobs have you held?

SD: I primarily worked in university libraries in Nova Scotia: Dalhousie and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. My last job was working for Esso Resources library in Calgary.

JA: What led to your involvement with the SSACC?

SD: It was shortly after my diagnosis. I was attending the day program at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary. I met a man who also attended the day program and was involved with the SSACC. He told me that there was a meeting of the SSACC on a particular night in early 1995 and I was welcomed to attend. I went with my sister and witnessed a partnership presentation on schizophrenia. It’s important to note that the man I met presented on his experience with schizophrenia that night. I turned to my sister and said, ‘I can do that too.’ ‘You probably can,’ was her reply. Afterwards, I found out the address of the Schizophrenia Society and telephone number of the director of the Partnership Program.

JA: Can you talk a little about your employment with the SSACC?

SD: When I did my fi rst partnership presentation at a local high school, the Partnership Program was 1 year old. At that time it was considered a volunteer position, but it’s now paid employment. I have been doing presentations for 13 years. It’s the longest job I have held in my life. In 1999, I started acting in the play, “Starry, Starry Night.” In 2004, I completed my training to be an Outreach Worker in the Outreach Program. I am very proud that the outreach team was awarded the 2007 Initiatives/Programs of Excellence Award from the Schizophrenia Society of Canada (SSC). In 2007, I participated in Dr. Barbara Schneider’s research project dealing with housing instability among people with schizophrenia. My part time job with the SSACC is the best job I have ever had.

JA: What impact does the SSACC have on your life?

SD: It has changed my life. Through it, I have improved my cognitive and social skills. I used to

be very shy in company, but now I am sociable and engaged in conversation. My self-confi dence and self-esteem has vastly improved. I am very grateful for the support I have.

JA: What inspired you to become an artist?

SD: I have been drawing all my life since early childhood. I didn’t consider becoming a professional artist until I was a teenager. I met a boy who was an artist himself in high school. He had an exhibition at the local library in my birthplace, Bathurst, New Brunswick. I became friends with him even though he was two or three years older than me. It was he who encouraged me to make a career in art. That’s how I got started. After I graduated with my BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, I was accepted into the Banff Centre for the Arts Program for professional development. I thrived there. I was there for six months. The artwork I did was accepted in several galleries across Canada. Throughout the summer of 1990, I went on lecture and exhibition tours to galleries across Canada.

JA: What type of artwork do you enjoy doing?

SD: Right now, I enjoy doing pencil and color pencil drawings. I like drawing landscapes and animals; drawings from life. Throughout my life, I have done a variety of art pieces, including lots of photography. When I was 19, I made a short animated fi lm on parent-child relationships. It was 30 seconds in length. This took place when I had a summer job with a group of psychologists in Bathurst at a clinic.

Jamal Ali is a writer and mental health advocate

residing in Calgary. His work can also be found

in Schizophrenia Digest

(www.schizophreniadigest.com).

An insider’s refl ections on the problems plaguing the central Alberta reserve

Inside Hobbema

Profi le of an Albertan: Suzan DesserudThe fi rst in a series of profi ling exceptional Albertans

JAMAL ALI


about the Parkland

In addition to reports and books, Parkland’s staff, speakers and research associates write numerous op-eds, articles and presentations. Here is the list of what has been posted on our website www.ualberta.ca/parkland since the last Post. These items can be downloaded for free. Many have been emailed to our list-serve. If you do not have access to these electronic resources, please contact the Edmonton offi ce for copies of articles you are interested in.

Democracy

The Return of the Trojan Horse - Alberta and the New World (Dis)Order By: Trevor Harrison, 2005 $28.26

From Rhetoric to Reality - Protecting Whistleblowers in Alberta By:Keith Archer, 2005*+ $5.00

Trouble in Paradise? - Citizen’s Views on Democracy in Alberta By:Trevor Harrison, Johnston and Harvey Krahn, 2003*+ $10.00

Shredding the Public Interest - Ralph Klein and 25 Years of One-Party Government By: Kevin Taft, 1997 $5.00

Economy

Saving for the Future: Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Discipline in Alberta By: Thompson, David, 2008*+ $10.00

The Spoils of the Boom - Incomes, profi ts and poverty in Alberta By: Diana Gibson, 2007*+ $5.00

Taming the Tempest - An Alternate Development Strategy for Alberta By: Diana Gibson, 2007*+ $10.00

Fiscal Surplus, Democratic Defi cit - Budgeting and Government Finance in Alberta By: Parkland’s Standing Budget Committee, 2006*+ $5.00

A Time for Vision - A Sustainable & Equitable Economy By: Parkland’s Standing Budget Committee, 2005*+ $5.00

A Time to Reap - Re-investing in Alberta’s Public Services By: Parkland’s Standing Budget Committee, 2004*+ $5.00

Alberta’s Good Enough Approach - Alberta’s “good enough” approach to fi scal management By: Parkland’s Standing Budget Committee, 2003*+ $5.00

Making it Work: Kyoto, Trade and Politics By: Ian Urquart, 2002*+ $8.00

Advantaged No More - How Low Taxes Flattened Alberta’s Future By: Parkland’s Standing Budget Committee, 2002*+ $4.00

Advantage for Whom? - Declining family incomes in a growing Alberta economy By: Patricia Lawrence, 2001*+ $5.00

Energy Policy

Over a Barrel: Exiting from NAFTA’s Proportionality Clause By: Gordon Laxer and John Dillon, 2008*+ $10.00

Freezing in the Dark: Why Canada Needs Strategic Petroleum Reserves By: Gordon Laxer, 2008*+ $10.00

Selling Albertans Short - Alberta’s Royalty Review Panel Fails the Public Interest By: Diana Gibson, 2007*+ $5.00

Greening the Fleet - National Trends and Opportunities for the City of Edmonton By: Allan Bolstad, 2007*+ $5.00

Fuelling Fortress America By: Hugh McCullum, 2006+ $10.00

Selling the Family Silver - Oil and Gas Royalties, Corporate Profi ts, and the Disregarded Public By: John W. Warnock, 2006*+ $10.00

Back to Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water - Energy, Trade and the Demise of Petrochemicals in Alberta By: Terisa Turner and Diana Gibson, 2005*+ $10.00

Toward an Energy Security Strategy for Canada - A Discussion Paper By: Dave Thompson, Gordon Laxer and Diana Gibson, 2005+ $4.00

BC Advantage - Lessons from AB on the De-regulation of the Electricity Industry By: Rick Wallace, 2001*+ $5.00

Energy: Free Trade & the Price We Paid By: Larry Pratt, 2001*+ $5.00

Change and Opportunity - EPCOR in a De-regulated Electricity Industry By: Kevin Taft and David Cooper, 2000*+ $5.00

Giving Away the Alberta Advantage - Are Albertans receiving maximum revenue from our oil and gas? By: Josee Johnston, 1999+ $10.00

Health Care Policy

The Bottom Line - The Truth Behind Private Health Insurance in Canada By: Diana Gibson and Colleen Fuller, 2006 $10.55

Public Remedies, Not Private Payments - Quality Health Care in Alberta By: Tammy Horne and Susan Abels, 2004*+ $5.00

Reclaiming Medicare - A response to the Mazankowski misdiagnosis By: Gillian Steward, Tammy Horne and Trevor Harrison, 2002*+ $10.00

Public Bodies, Private Parts - Surgical Contracts and Confl icts of Interest at the Calgary Regional Health By: Gillian Steward, 2001*+ $5.00

Clear Answers - The Economics and Politics of For-Profi t Medicine By: Kevin Taft, 2000 $10.00

Other Issues

Youth Crime and Justice in Alberta - Rhetoric and Reality By: Timothy Hartnagel, 2002*+ $5.00

Writing Off The Rural West - Globalization, Governments and the Transformation of Rural Communities By: Roger Epp and Dave Whitson, 2001 $30.00

Privatization

EPCOR: A Study of Ownership, Accountability and the Public Interest By: Diana Gibson, 2005*+ $5.00

Sobering Result - The AB Liquor Retailing Industry Ten Years after Privatization By: Flanagan, Greg, 2003*+ $5.00

Un-accountable - The Case of Highway Maintenance Privatization in AB. By: Lisa Prescott, 2003*+ $5.00

* this report can be downloaded free as a pdf on our website at www.ualberta.ca/parkland+ this report is free upon request for sponsoring members (who donate more than $120/year)

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Donors who contribute a minimum of $20/year will be mailed a board elections ballot as either an academic or general member when there are multiple candidates for a position. Are you a professor, sessional, graduate student, college instructor, or alumni at Albertan university or college. ___ Yes (Default is NO, general member)Please contact us for information on Organizational Memberships

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Send to Parkland Institute - 11405 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1Phone (780) 492-8558 Fax (780) 492-8738

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Slide Presentation: Parkland Energy Research and the Future.By David Thompson for the Oil and Community Speakers Series, May 29, 2008 New Report: Over a Barrel: Exiting from NAFTA‘s Proportionality Clause By Gordon Laxer and John Dillon. May 28, 2008Media Release, Executive Summary and Report (hardcopy $10 plus shipping) are available. New Report: Public Service Cuts In the Northwest Territories: Economic Imperative or Political Choice?By David Thompson, May 6, 2008 New Report: Saving for the Future: Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Discipline in AlbertaBy David Thompson, April 21, 2008Media Release, Executive Summary and Report (hardcopy $10 plus shipping) are available. Parkland Op-Ed: Bitumen and plenty of jobs heading south to U.S.By Diana Gibson and David Thompson, published in the Edmonton Journal, March 24, 2008


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What does it take for Parkland to make a difference in Alberta politics?It takes solid, timely, relevant research. It takes regular communication with the media.It takes educating people so they can articulate (and press for) the change they want.It takes staff and resources to do it.

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Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta 11045 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E1 Phone: (780) 492-8558 Fax: (780) 492-8738 E-Mail address: [email protected] our website at: www.ualberta.ca/parkland

Pencil Us In to Your Calendar...

Parkland’s 3rd Annual GalaWill be Thursday, October 23rd 2008University of Alberta Faculty Club

Tickets and event details will be available in the fall.

writers!

the Post is currently recruiting writers interested in the social, political and environmental issues affecting Albertans. Enthusiasm, not experience, is the only requirement.

For more information, contact the Post’s coordinating editor at [email protected]

Parkland Institute’s 12th Annual Fall Conference

Art, Culture, Media and Politics

Nov. 14 – 16, 2008, U of A Campus

Featuring: a multimedia keynote presentation by Sol Guy, New Media Cultural Storyteller (tentative) closing speaker Tariq Ali, Writer, Journalist and Film-maker

Why do we talk about what we talk about?• Media• Activist Art• Politics in Fiction• Alternative Media

What should we be talking about?• World views versus a political continuum• Workshops • Examples of what has worked

To fi nd out more and to download the registration form visit www.ualberta.ca/parkland

Political change for the common good

Parkland Institue’s Latest Research

Over a BarrelExiting from NAFTA’s Proportionality ClauseBy: Gordon Laxer and John Dillon, 2008

Both conventional oil and gas have peaked in Canada. The nation is running out of natural gas. Yet Canada cannot stretch out dwindling stocks for Canadian needs by cutting exports. Instead, more than half of its gas has to be made available to the U.S. Canada could also be prevented from providing its own oil to its own citizens in an international oil shortage. The reason: the proportionality clause in NAFTA.

Price $10 for hard copy or download from our website for free See order form on page 11 of this issue.

Documents

Summer Post 2008