Fort Chip cancer an icon for Ralph's third way?

The CBC new has hit on an icon of our health problems to be addressed by Ralph’s Third way. See

Horrible things like this are not incidents; they are a fact of life and this will not be the Governments problem (not that they are now). It will be up to the individual to sue all the parties concerned, break their personal banks in order to die with a partial win. Yup! This would be Ralph’s third way and here is the why.

Appreciate; this Governmnent has finite statistics on just how many cancers occur in every individual community; in every indiviudal block! Who went to what doctor and for what reason and in which town if from another location.

Seems like insurance companies are the only people who get the information. Rates are higher or unattainable in one area and not the other. It's like looking into the future! We need a Third Way!

I know Fort Chipewyan and I have sailed the Athabasca River. It was my job to close down the NTCL operation in McMurray and portage the equipment across the rapids into the Mackenzie river system.

Chip is on the point of the Athabasca river and the Lesser Slave Lake. The tar sands operations of that time were dumping their collecting ponds into the Athabasca River at midnight. This was a job given to the lab tech and they were properly documented. (One day the labs were raided and lab books confiscated; all except one).

This nightly flood to toxins would pass Fort McKay on the Athabasca and flow onwards to be exhausted around Fort Chip.

On the other side of the lake Uranium City had been in full swing. Radon Gas was found present in the housings and there was evidence of leaching of radioactive material into the lake. Uranium City was being closed. Contamination of the lake was certain but never proven if this contamination was from a natural source or some mine habit.

These cancer rates at Fort Chip offer an icon for study. A comparison of incident between Fort McKay and Fort Chip may offer some interesting prospective!

If McKay, who was seldom exposed to the Lesser Slave have the same or similar percentage rates per capita of cancer as does Fort Chip, the problem is with the Tar Sands and their midnight ponds. If the study results are reversed it leaves the food source out of the Lesser Slave suspect. I should note there were food warnings out on the fish in the Lesser Slave for a length of time!

Too bad this bunch of bandits wouldn't give us all the information by which to make our decisions!

I would love to see some one step up to the plate and help this Doctor complete his study!

John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca