Author: Shelly W

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Wildfire Recovery Effort Boosted by Red Cross Fund Raising Efforts

The wildfire recovery efforts in Wood Buffalo have been boosted by the fund raising of the Red Cross, and the close to $300 million raised by the organization can definitely make a difference in Fort McMurray and the surrounding Wood Buffalo area. According to Canadian Red Cross CEO Conrad Sauve “The sprint of the emergency is over and now we’re in the long marathon of recovery. For some, it may be weeks or months. For others, it will be years.” The Canadian Red Cross has spent close to $200 million so far in order to assist families and individuals impacted by the wildfire. Dozens of programs and organizations in the local community, including the Wood Buffalo Food Bank, will receive a total of $50 million of the funds raised. $30 million has been set aside by the organization to help small businesses who were harmed.

Another $12 million of the funds that the Red Cross raised towards the wildfire recovery effort will be put towards disaster preparedness. Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake stated “I’ve been happy to support Red Cross initiatives around the world. Never did I imagine that the Red Cross would be supporting my world, our world, right here in Wood Buffalo. The outpouring of support that Canada gave us is what reassured us that one day we’d be home. No neighbourhood in my mind has the indication that they won’t be able to rebuild, but there are all these conditions that have to be met before they can. We’re really working hard to make it possible for every neighbourhood to be back.”

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Alberta Ft Mac Health

Laval University Researchers Examining Mental Health in Fort McMurray

Two Laval University researchers are examining mental health in Fort McMurray after the recent wildfire and evacuation, trying to determine how well people are really coping and whether PTSD and other mental health issues have increased because of the recent events. Everyone in the community tries to put on a strong face and stay positive, but School of Psychology at Laval University graduate student researchers Camille Pepin and Laura-Emilie Savage are noticing a different pattern that is emerging. The duo is trying to study the mental health consequences that the worst natural disaster in Canada has had on the local community. According to Pepin “If everyone is talking about how they’re strong but they cry every morning, it’s hard to face a community and pretend to be strong. I am sure the positive messages have been truly uplifting and encouraging, and helping a lot of people. But for others, it might be overwhelming or even embarrassing.”

Fort McMurray was overwhelmed by the wildfire and evacuated on May 3, and the wildfire caused over 90,000 people to flee. Close to 2,000 structures were completely destroyed, and almost 2,575 individual residences were lost as a result. The Laval University researchers are hoping to study just how much of an impact the wildfire had on the mental health of community residents. Adults from every socioeconomic background are being interviewed as part of the study. Savage stated in an interview that “There is this very high expectation some people feel they face, that they should return and be strong,” said Savage during a Monday morning interview. “It is not that the resources are inappropriate, but that what is expected of a lot of people is very high. It is not uncommon for someone to suddenly decide they don’t want to share their story because they are overwhelmed talking about it. It’s hard to have screening when there are this many resources and this many people suffering.”

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Alberta Ft Mac Health

Will Recent Wildfire Cause an Increase in Fort McMurray’s Domestic Violence Rate?

In 2011 the Slave Lake wildfire destroyed hundreds of homes, and caused a sharp increase in domestic violence as well. Now Fort McMurray could be facing the same trend but the community is better prepared if this happens. Northern Haven Support Society executive director explained that in the Slave Lake case Shelly May Ferguson “We went from 12 calls a month to 24 calls.” Stress, both for financial reasons and caused by events such as the wildfire and forced evacuation, can increase the risk of domestic violence because people may snap under too much pressure. Waypoints is not taking any chances now that people have come back to Fort McMurray, and executive director Michele Taylor told the media that “We’re trying to prevent the increase in first-time domestic violence in homes or intensifying domestic violence in homes.” Unity House is taking proactive steps to ensure that domestic violence does not leave people at risk.

Studies show that after a natural disaster, like the wildfire in Fort McMurray, the rate of domestic violence tends to go up by around 30%. According to Taylor “Alberta has one of the worst track records in terms of domestic violence per capita. People have a hard time processing what 80,000 people just went through. And for some people it leads to domestic violence. It expresses itself emotionally and sometimes it’s six to 12 months after the trauma.” In order to prevent more domestic violence Waypoints is offering counseling at no charge for people who have relationship tension, and the organization has provided Wood Buffalo and Fort McMurray human resource departments with program and services outlines as well.

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac Health

Suncor Energy Offers Proposal Over Environmental Concerns

A recent proposal by Suncor Energy addresses environmental concerns and has gained the support of activists, but at least one other energy company has stated that they will not follow suit and do the same. Suncor has proposed leaving some of the oilsand reserves in place when these resources are too difficult or expensive to produce, and this would reduce both the costs involved and the carbon emissions produced. A request to the Alberta government to let Suncor strand some of the oilsands resources that they have access to has been confirmed by company CEO Steve Williams. Williams explained during a conference call that “We are advocating in a modest way to work with government so that we can strand some of the oil in the oilsands.”

The Suncor Energy proposal will address some environmental concerns, and change how the company does business. According to Williams “Our regulation is written so that we take to a very high percentage the last piece of oil out. That tends to be the most expensive both economically and environmentally. What we would like to do is leave that last piece in (the ground). I’m very optimistic we are making some breakthroughs with government to do that.” Clean energy think tank Pembina Institute researcher Simon Dyer explained that “We would agree that Alberta’s historic focus on maximizing oilsands production … rather than optimizing production on the highest quality ore may be having unnecessary environmental impacts on things like greenhouse gas intensity and tailings production and lowering returns to Albertans as the owners of the resource.”

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Alberta Ft Mac Politics

Scrip System Consequences Challenged by Wood Buffalo Metis who Cite Fraud

Scrip system consequences which happened decades ago are being challenged by the Wood Buffalo Metis as well as the Metis Nation of Alberta. Both Metis groups are partnering in a legal research project about the scrip system, fraud, and “the sorry legacy of Metis scrip in northeastern Alberta.” During the later part of the 19th century Metis in Canada were issued scrips, vouchers that could be used for either 240 acres of land or $240, in exchange for the forfeiture of any Indian title that they held. According to a report by Canada’s ministerial special representative on Metis rights and Vancouver-based lawyer Tom Isaac “The system was replete with fraud, abuses, and delays. In short, the scrip policy was largely unsuccessful in bringing economic and social benefits to Metis.”

According to the McMurray Metis general manager Daniel Stuckless “There was fraud committed in this region, to put it quite bluntly. We feel it’s time to knock on that window and start these discussions with the government.” The Fort McKay Metis have also joined the Wood Buffalo Metis claims of fraud. Fort McKay Metis president Ron Quintal explained “We intend to do right by our ancestors who were tricked by a federal government that sought to take advantage of them. This is also about the future of our children, that they may be able to grow up in a world that’s just a little fairer.” In 2013 the Supreme Court of Canada determined that Ottawa did not honour an 1870 Manitoba land grant proision with the Metis.

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Economic Ft Mac Politics

Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee Will Determine if Residential Tax Relief Will Be Offered

It is now up to the Wood Buffalo recovery committee to determine if residential tax relief will be offered after a motion by Coun. McGrath to cut these taxes was withdrawn. The committee will perform a review, and part of this process will involve exploring potential opportunities for residential tax relief that would be covered under the Disaster Recovery Program for the province of Alberta. McGrath issued a statement during a release and said that “This is being done so we can get this right for our neighbours, families and friends most affected by the wildfire.” Many residents who were forced to evacuate, and who came back to homes that were damaged or structures which were completely destroyed, feel that some tax relief is warranted.

The residential tax relief motion that McGrath proposed on July 12 called for a number of measures that would cut back the taxes that residents and property owners pay. Some believe that this is short sighted though, and that right now the recovery of the community needs to be the very first priority. It is going to take money to rebuild, and cutting taxes at this critical point could be a big mistake if it means that the recovery process drags out longer. Now it will be up to the Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee to decide whether tax relief for residents is warranted, and if it is what type of relief would be the best option to keep the recovery going and help residents get back to normal.