Oil Sands Contaminate Traditional First Nations' Foods: Report

"New scientific research has found that wild-caught foods in northern Alberta have higher-than-normal levels of pollutants the study associates with oil sands production, but First Nations are already shifting away from their traditional diets out of fears over contamination.

The research, to be officially released on Monday, found contaminants in traditional foods such as muskrat and moose, and that aboriginal community members feel less healthy than they did a generation ago, according to an executive summary obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Titled Environmental and Human Health Implications of the Athabasca Oil Sands for the Mikisew Cree First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Northern Alberta, the report will add to calls for sober second thought to ramping up oil sands production. The executive summary of the research said both First Nations living downstream of the megaprojects want a greater say in the pace of development and environmental regulationa."

Shawn McCarthy and Kelly Cryderman report for the Toronto Globe and Mail July 6, 2014.