Saturday, October 30, 2021

 White Coat, Black Art

This Alberta doctor dad and teen want you to know climate change already harms health

Youth climate activist Sadie Vipond and emergency physician Joe Vipond to lobby at COP26 climate conference

CBC Radio · 
Sadie Vipond and her father, Dr. Joe Vipond, are attending COP26, the international climate conference, in Glasgow, U.K. (Submitted by Joe Vipond)

Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This story is part of a CBC News initiative entitled "Our Changing Planet" to show and explain the effects of climate change and what is being done about it.

Sadie Vipond was just seven years old when she first experienced the negative effects of extreme weather, the kind expected to happen more often with climate change. 

Her Calgary neighbourhood was evacuated because of severe flooding in 2013, the most destructive in Alberta's history.

"I remember being woken up in the middle of the night by my grandmother saying, 'We have to go.' And I remember driving up to a family friend's house and staying there for three days, I believe, and school had been cancelled at that point."

Though their family home survived, Sadie, now 15, told White Coat, Black Art host Dr. Brian Goldman she was old enough to sense the danger in the situation and "definitely was very worried."

An aerial view of the Calgary flood of 2013 that forced Sadie and her family to vacate their home. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

"And now I am worried that in the future, because of the impacts of the climate crisis, the floods are going to get worse and next time … we might not be as lucky."

    The experience started her on a road to becoming a youth climate activist, presenting to Calgary city council at age 12 and in 2019, becoming one of 15 young plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the federal government. The ongoing suit, currently before the Federal Court of Appeals, says Canada's failure to protect them from climate change is a violation of the youths' charter rights.

    This week Sadie is attending COP26, the international climate conference, in Glasgow, Scotland, with her father, emergency physician and climate crusader Dr. Joe Vipond.

    He said he's declined invitations to the conference in the past out of concern he couldn't make enough of an impact to offset the carbon emissions associated with the flight, but "this time Sadie's going, and I think she can make a difference. I think her voice is important."

    Through sharing ideas and leveraging Sadie's viewpoint as a young person, the pair hope to draw attention to the need for decisive climate action, including the very real dangers a warming planet already poses to human health. 

    • Have questions about COP26 or climate science, policy or politics? Email us: ask@cbc.ca.
    Sadie, 15, says she's worried about the future and the impacts of the climate crisis. (Submitted by Joe Vipond)

    "There was so much smoke this summer that I could not do the regular activities that make my mental health stable, as in going outside hiking, biking, running, all those things," said Sadie.

    Her dad says smoke from wildfires is one of two main ways the climate is affecting the health of people in Western Canada in recent years.

    "That wildfire smoke will recurrently wash over our city and has impacts on, in particular, the pulmonary diseases like COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and asthma," Joe Vipond told White Coat, Black Art.

    Dr. Joe Vipond is a Calgary emergency physician and president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. (Submitted by Joe Vipond)

    He said he distinctly remembers seeing a patient one October a few years ago whose asthma was still unmanageable months after that summer's wildfires. "It just hadn't gone away."

    The other major climate issue is the frequency of extreme heat events, including the "heat dome" that so badly impacted the western provinces this summer.

    "I don't think anybody expected things to get that hot that fast," Vipond said. 

    A global team of scientists found the temperatures reached were "virtually impossible" without climate change, on the order of a once-in-a-millenium event. But if the planet warms to 2 C above pre-industrial levels, that kind of extreme heat event could happen every five to 10 years.

    A sign at Canadian Tire stating the store is sold out of AC units and fans is pictured in Vancouver on June 28 during a deadly heat wave. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

    Poorly understood

    The heat dome caused 570 deaths in B.C. and another 66 deaths in Alberta. 

    "A lot of people haven't assimilated this knowledge, but this is the worst weather mortality event since Confederation … and yet we're not really even talking about it," said Vipond, who is also the president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

    Not only does the public not understand the risks of climate change to human health, it's not even taught to physicians in medical school, says Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency physician for Northwest Territories Health and Social Services in Yellowknife, and a leading expert on climate and health.

    "In 2009, the Lancet, which is one of the world's most prestigious health journals, said that climate change is the biggest health threat of the 21st century," said Howard, who is also the advocacy co-chair for the World Health Organization's civil society working group on climate change and health, and a board member of the Global Climate and Health Alliance. 

    At the time Howard was a recently graduated emergency room physician trained at the University of B.C. and McGill, filling in for another doctor in Inuvik, one of the most rapidly warming places in the world. 

    "And I was like, what? How did you forget to tell me about the biggest health emergency?"

    'We've kept health and the environment in these two silos, and we urgently need to connect them,' said Dr. Courtney Howard, pictured here at the Pilot Monument overlooking Yellowknife. Howard is advocacy co-chair for the World Health Organization’s civil society working group on climate change and health. (Submitted by Courtney Howard)

    Although that was more than a decade ago, climate health risks still aren't part of curricula at most medical schools, she said.

    "We've kept health and the environment in these two silos, and we urgently need to connect them."

    The Lancet's latest report on climate and health, published October 20, says the health impacts will get much worse if leaders fail to commit to more ambitious targets at COP26. 

    Not only is managing climate change necessary for our own individual health, it's key to keeping our health systems up and running, said Howard.

    Think of the hospital in Fort McMurray that had to be evacuated during wildfires in 2016, she said, or the major saline manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico that was taken out by Hurricane Maria in 2017, causing a saline shortage in hospitals around the world that lasted more than a year. 

    The Fort McMurray wildfire in 2016 is the costliest insured disaster in Canadian history, with other impacts that are hard to calculate — including on health and mental illness. (Terry Reith/CBC)

    To date, climate scientists haven't done a great job of encouraging people to take action, she said. "We were using images like polar bears to try to evoke emotion. But when we look at the communication studies that have since been done, it turns out, nobody's going to change what they do next Tuesday on behalf of a polar bear."

    What does work is presenting climate change within the context of health, letting people know that anytime we phase out fossil-fuel-related transport or electricity, in favour of a low-carbon option, we decrease air pollution, Howard said. 

    "And that actually saves lives from the top five chronic diseases that kill Canadians. And so that's cancer, heart disease, stroke — the things that our loved ones die of."

    In jurisdictions such as Ontario where coal-fired power has been phased out, she said a lot of the rationale has been centred around keeping kids out of the emergency department with asthma.

    Sadie, left, her mother Erin Grier, and her sister Willa, stand next to Greta Thunberg and her father, Svante Thunberg, in Calgary in Oct. 2019. (Joe Vipond)

    Small changes add up

    Likewise, every small decision to ride a bike instead of drive, eat a plant-based meal instead of meat or divert a piece of waste from landfill makes a difference, said Howard.

    "What the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us is that every degree matters a tremendous amount in terms of preventing the feedback loops that could take us into a planet where the climate system spirals out of control. So what that means is every single change saves lives."

    At COP26 to take part in a documentary about youth climate activists in which she is featured, Sadie Vipond said, "I really hope that I can make some of a difference, even if it's just being another one of the participants in the protests, or educating my friends in talking about the climate crisis and telling them why this is so important to me."

    British and UN flags fly in in London ahead of the UN climate conference COP26 which will be held in the Glasgow. (Alberto Pezzali/ The Associated Press)

    Written by Brandie Weikle. Produced by Colleen Ross with help from Rachel Sanders and Amina Zafar.

    DR. VIPOND HAS BEEN THE VOICE OF ALBERTA DOCTORS DURING THE SUMMER WHEN THE KENNEY AND HIS UCP GOVT OPEN THE PROVINCE FOR THE CALGARY STAMPEDE AND THE LEFT IT OPEN TO A MASSIVE FOURTH WAVE OF COVID. WORST IN CANADA AND AT ONE POINT WORST IN NORTH AMERICA

    HE GAVE DAILY UPDATES ON THE CONDITION OF THE COVID CRISIS AND THE CONDITION IN OUR HOSPITALS 

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    On Alberta's dryland farms, reflections on a devastating year and an eye to what's next

    Several municipalities declared agricultural disasters this

    summer due to drought


    Joel Dryden · CBC News · 
    Lee Markert, director of operations for Markert Seeds in Vulcan, Alta., says the summer brought the worst drought conditions he's seen in his agricultural career. Markert says the situation is leading to mental health challenges among many dryland farmers in southern Alberta. (Joel Dryden/CBC)

    Just north of the town of Vulcan, Alta., snow is falling on Markert Seeds, a dryland operation that grows wheat, barley, canola, peas and flax.

    The first snowfall of the year means fall work on the farm is done. The moisture comes as a welcome relief after the summer, which saw droughts devastate operations across southern Alberta.

    Ron Markert, president of Markert Seeds, just took out his 50th crop on the operation. He's seen good years and bad, and his experience has taught him how to prepare for the latter.

    But like all dryland farming operations — which refers to the growing of crops without the use of irrigation in dry areas — the challenges of the past year in southern Alberta have hit hard.

    "Looking at the numbers, roughly we had a third of a crop of what is an average crop," Markert said. "Some were worse, canola was probably worse than anything. But wheat, barley and peas were all down."

    Ron Markert, president of Markert Farms, says most of the grain bins on the property are usually full. But this year, he can knock on some of the bins and hear echoes reverberating from within because they're empty. (Joel Dryden/CBC)

    Alberta experienced scorching heat above 35 C for days this summer, setting record-breaking temperatures. A number of provincial municipalities declared agricultural disasters due to drought.

    Farmers in southern Alberta saw a better harvest than expected in 2020. That made some cautiously optimistic after three previous years of drought-like conditions.

    This year, crop insurance is important. But for less experienced farmers, even one challenging summer like this past one can lead to high levels of stress.

    "The more [drought] you have, the worse it gets. It just drives you down further and further," Markert said.

    Impact on mental health

    Markert's son, Lee, who is the business's director of operations, said farmers his age across the province are now facing some difficult decisions.

    "People in my generation are really coming into that time in their life when they've got kids to look after and trying to get them through school and sports," he said.

    "You throw it all together, and you've potentially got a stressful situation when the crop isn't there to support them."

    Lee Markert says farmers his age across the province are now facing some difficult decisions. When you add the drought conditions to the pressures of raising a family, he says, 'you've potentially got a stressful situation when the crop isn't there to support them.' (Joel Dryden/CBC)

    Humphrey Banack is a grain farmer in central Alberta and a board member of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture. He said when weather doesn't co-operate, all dryland farmers can do is watch their crops wither.

    "It really plays hard mentally on people, when you see this happening," Banack said. "There's your livelihood in the field, you've made your plans, and all of a sudden those plans are changing."

    Economic impact on local businesses

    The impacts aren't just being felt by the farming population.

    Ghassan Hamdan, owner of Mama's Pizza & Pasta in Vulcan, says the effect of struggling crops, paired with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, has spread to businesses in the community.

    "We lost more than 55 per cent of the business," Hamdan said. "And we're trying to stay open, but I don't know for how long we can fight this."

    Ghassan Hamdan, owner of Mama's Pizza & Pasta in Vulcan, says the downturn in the farming industry has seriously affected his bottom line. (Joel Dryden/CBC)

    Local farmers used to come into his business twice a week for supper. Now, Hamdan said, he sees those same people twice a month, if that.

    "The situation affects everybody. The workers, the farmers, everybody," he said.

    Several worsening growing conditions

    Stefan Kienzle is a geography professor at the University of Lethbridge who created an interactive website that lets Albertans explore how the climate is changing.

    Dryland farmers in southern Alberta, particularly those living west of Lethbridge, are facing several worsening growing conditions, he said.

    "Number one, they have less annual precipitation, especially during the summer," Kienzle said. "The key thing there is, the change in precipitation may just be a natural cycle, so at the moment we cannot make a clear link to climate change."

    Stefan Kienzle, a geography professor at the University of Lethbridge, says dryland farmers in southern Alberta are facing several worsening growing conditions. He created an interactive website that lets Albertans explore how the climate is changing. (Google Meets)

    At the same time, dryland farmers are facing higher evaporation rates due to higher temperatures and a longer growing season, he said, which results in dryer soils.

    "The increase in evaporation is 100 per cent linked to climate change," he said. "Then, of course, we have heat waves, such as the one we faced this year.... That heat wave sucked the remaining soil moisture out of the soils and really gave a lot of stress to the dryland farmers."

    On top of that, dryland farmers are also facing an increased risk of pests, such as a grasshopper infestation observed this past summer, owing to the favourable conditions presented by very warm and dry soil conditions.

    "The last four out of five years, we had summer drought conditions," Kienzle said. "So that means there was stress for the dryland farmers, not just in 2021 but quite a few years before."

    A universal experience on dryland operations

    When it comes to other dryland operations in southern Alberta, the sentiment is the same: This year was challenging, and many are taking the cold season ahead as a chance to reset.

    Nichole Neubauer owns and operates Neubauer Farms with her husband. She said her family farm has been in existence since 1910.

    "Our dryland crops only produced at a fraction of what they would," she said. "It was probably about a quarter of what we would average over the last 10 years."

    Snow recently fell on devastated dryland farms in southern Alberta. It was welcome moisture after a summer of extremely challenging weather conditions. Alberta experienced scorching heat above 35 C for days this summer, setting record-breaking temperatures. (Joel Dryden/CBC)

    Garry Lentz, who farms on a dryland operation 16 kilometres east of Medicine Hat, said crop insurance basically covers only the costs of production.

    "There's no profit to be had this year in farming," he said. "It's a big disappointment. It puts everything on hold that you have planned."

    Dryland farms in other provinces, such as Grace Hill Farms in southwest Saskatchewan, were similarly hit hard by this year's drought. (Submitted by Hart Smith)

    And the challenges extend to dryland farms outside Alberta, too.

    Hart Smith farms with his dad on Grace Hill Farms, a multi-generational organic grain farm in southwest Saskatchewan.

    "Most of our crops and neighbours' crops did not fare well," Smith said. "This is my first year farming. For me, this year is one of my best and hopefully worst years ever."


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    Trudeau files last-ditch appeal against billions for Indigenous children

    Tribunal ordered Canadian government to pay compensation to children who suffered discrimination in welfare system

    Justin Trudeau in The Hague on Friday. Indigenous leaders have long criticized the prime minister’s decision to fight both of these rulings. Photograph: Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters

    Rights and freedom is supported by


    Leyland Cecco in Toronto
    Fri 29 Oct 2021

    Justin Trudeau’s government has launched a last-minute court appeal against a ruling that would require it pay billions of dollars to First Nations children who suffered discrimination in the welfare system.

    Minutes before a court deadline on Friday afternoon, the government filed papers indicating it planned once again to fight a human rights tribunal decision ordering the compensation payment.

    Soon after, however, the government released a statement saying it would pause litigation as it negotiated with First Nations groups to determine how compensation should be paid out.

    The decision to fight the tribunal ruling – and the subsequent pause in litigation – was swiftly condemned by prominent Indigenous voices.

    “Feds had years to sit and negotiate. Courts have told them to negotiate. Instead feds refused to abide by tribunal orders. Discrimination and harm continued to our kids. Now, before feds agree to negotiate, they wait till Friday 4.30pm and get their appeal in first. Wow,” tweeted Pam Palmater, Mi’kmaw lawyer and chair in Indigenous governance at Ryerson University.

    In 2019, the Canadian human rights tribunal argued the federal government had “willfully and recklessly” discriminated against First Nations children living on reserve by underfunding child and family services. Children were taken from their communities and put into government-run programs.

    The tribunal had ordered Ottawa to pay C$40,000, the maximum the tribunal can award, to each child as well as their parents and grandparents, but the federal government appealed the ruling.

    That appeal was dismissed by a federal court judge who found that the government had failed to demonstrate the tribunal’s decision was unreasonable.

    The battle for compensation dates back 14 years, when Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations, argued that by underfunding child welfare on reserve, Ottawa’s conduct amounted to racial discrimination.

    Indigenous leaders have long criticized the prime minister’s decision to fight both of these rulings – but had recently expressed hope the Liberal government would end the multi-year battle.

    In its submission, the government says it “acknowledges the finding of systemic discrimination and does not oppose the general principle that compensation to First Nations individuals who experienced pain and suffering” – but said it found the way compensation was determined was problematic.

    In its statement on Friday, the government said it hoped to reach a settlement by December.
    First Nations leaders say they'll work with feds on child compensation but appeal 'not productive'

    Brooklyn Neustaeter
    CTVNews.ca Writer
    Saturday, October 30, 2021 

    Important to end discrimination: AFN chief

    NOW PLAYING
    AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald says compensation is just one part of a long-term solution but calls for discrimination against Indigenous people to end in Canada.


    TORONTO -- First Nations leaders say they are disappointed by the federal government's decision to appeal a ruling ordering Ottawa to compensate Indigenous children removed from their homes, but will "work together" with officials to reach a resolution.

    David Pratt, vice-chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), told CTV News Channel on Saturday that the appeal is "not productive" in working towards reconciliation. Pratt said FSIN's position is that the federal government "needs to fully comply with the tribunal rulings."

    "Let's start working to make sure that there's equitable funding for Indigenous children and to just stop the discriminatory practices that continue to be perpetuated by the Government of Canada," Pratt said.

    The federal government appealed a Federal Court decision to uphold a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) order requiring Ottawa compensate First Nations children, but says it plans to resolve the dispute outside of court.

    Late Friday evening, the government filed a notice of appeal arguing the Federal Court erred in finding that the CHRT acted "reasonably" by ordering complete compensation for children, their parents, or grandparents for being unnecessarily removed from their communities since 2006.

    Moments later, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu published a statement noting that Ottawa and the Indigenous groups on the other side of the lawsuit have agreed to "sit down immediately" to reach a resolution by December.

    The appeal is active, but the government says it will pause the litigation for two months.

    The two sides will look to agree on: providing "fair, equitable compensation" to First Nations children on-reserve and in the Yukon who were removed from their homes by child and family services agencies; achieving "long-term reform" of the First Nations and Family Service program; and, delivering funding for the "purchase and/or construction of capital assets" that support the delivery of child and family services.

    In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found that Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children by knowingly underfunding child and family services for those living on reserve. Litigants in the case first brought forward in 2007 say this led to thousands of kids being apprehended from their families and enduring abuse in provincial foster care systems.

    The tribunal ordered Ottawa to pay $40,000, the maximum the tribunal can award, to each child as well as their parents and grandparents.

    In 2019, the federal government asked the Federal Court to dismiss the tribunal's decisions, but it upheld the orders last month. Friday was the final day for the government to file an appeal.

    MORE THAN COMPENSATION

    Pratt said it is important that the federal government recognize the treatment of Indigenous children within the child welfare system as wrong and go beyond compensation.

    "Let's work together to not only compensate those that have been in the system, but also to ensure that our children are receiving the best quality of care and funding and resourcing that they need," he said.

    If the federal government is "serious" about its commitment to reconciliation, Pratt said, officials should stop prolonging this process.

    "Let's deal with these discriminatory practices, ending them once and for all against Indigenous children in all of Canada," he said.

    However, if negotiations fail, Pratt said, the matter will be back in court.

    "If things don't go our way, then the government will file their appeal in January, they'll take it back into the courts, and… our lawyers have assured us that we're going to win," Pratt said, adding that the federal government will eventually "exhaust all their legal avenues."

    Assembly of First Nations Chief RoseAnne Archibald released a statement Friday night echoing the same sentiment of disappointment, but said the organization is "encouraged that a deadline will be set to negotiate a settlement of this matter."

    "Our priority remains to ensure that our children and families are supported to thrive. First Nations children and families have waited far too long for justice and healing. In order to walk the healing path together, Canada must acknowledge the harms that discrimination has had on our children and families. Our collective goal is to ensure that discrimination ends and never happens again," she said.

    Archibald told CTV News Channel that compensation for Indigenous children is "just one part of a long-term solution."

    "The other part that's extraordinarily important for us is to make sure that discrimination has in fact ended, that we can point to it and say 'this is in fact in the past'," Archibald said in an interview Saturday.

    Archibald said it is important that the federal government and First Nations "determine together that discrimination has indeed ended," and, more importantly, that measures are put in place to ensure discrimination doesn't "creep back up into the system."

    "This system that First Nations are in… is rife with systemic racism," she said. "So we really have to look at this larger question of how we're going to end discrimination and make sure it doesn't happen again, and that can only be done when you sit down in a true partnership with government."

    Archibald said First Nations care for their children as much as other Canadians, and want to ensure they grow up in a "just society" that includes access to clean drinking water, high-standard housing and safe schooling.

    "We have a similar vision of happy, healthy children, surrounded by the love and care of their families living in vibrant and safe communities, but First Nations have a lot of catching up to do in order to ensure that equality and equity exists in our communities," she said.

    With files from CTVNews.ca's Sarah Turnbull and The Canadian Press



    FILE - Indigenous children carry a flag as they march following the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation ceremonies on Parliament Hill, Thursday, September 30, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

    Compensation for Indigenous children does not equate to justice: AFN chief

    By Staff The Canadian Press
    Posted October 30, 2021 


    WATCH  Feds appeal ruling to compensate for Indigenous children.


    Talks set to start Monday between Indigenous leaders and the federal government about a possible settlement over court-ordered compensation to First Nations children could signal the clearing of the road to reconciliation, the Assembly of First Nations National chief said Saturday.

    RoseAnne Archibald said the talks are scheduled to last until December and Indigenous leaders are prepared to meet face-to-face with government representatives.

    The federal government filed notice it plans to challenge in the Federal Court of Appeal a ruling ordering Ottawa to pay compensation to First Nations children removed from their homes, but also said the parties have agreed to work towards a resolution by December.

    READ MORE: Ottawa pausing court appeal filed on Indigenous compensation, will work to strike deal

    “We are closer than we have been previously,” said Archibald. “So. that’s an important part of why the AFN executive committee, which is all the regional chiefs across Canada, has agreed to enter into these intense negotiations to see if we can get to a settlement that is fair.”

    In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children by knowingly underfunding child and family services for those living on reserve.

    In a joint statement Friday after the appeal was filed, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller and Justice Minister David Lametti said the parties “have agreed to pause litigation” on the tribunal’s decision.

    5:11Miller says ‘serious discussion’ needed to determine how compensation would be distributed

    Archibald said she could not discuss in-depth details of the impending talks, but supported the human rights tribunal’s statement that the children were eligible for $40,000 in federal compensation.

    The tribunal said each First Nations child, along with their parents or grandparents, who were separated because of this chronic underfunding were eligible to receive $40,000 in federal compensation, which was the maximum amount it could award.

    It has been estimated some 54,000 children and their families could qualify, meaning Ottawa could be in line to pay more than $2 billion.

    Archibald said any federal compensation paid to Indigenous children removed from their homes would be a recognition of the harms that were caused, but does not make amends for the damage done in the process.

    She said compensation does not equate to justice.

    But the national chief said a compensation settlement would signal the government is on the path toward that goal as well as ending discrimination against First Nations children.

    “Compensation is a legal recognition that you have been harmed and that you deserve to be compensated from that harm,” Archibald said. “If we can get to a settlement, this will signal we are on the right path.”
    4:41Miller details why government pausing court appeal filed on Indigenous compensation


    Archibald, elected national chief in July, said she has “reasonable and fair” expectation the federal government and Indigenous nations will walk together toward reconciliation.


    “That healing path forward together will be based upon concrete actions, more than it will be on discussions and words,” she said.

    Indigenous groups have been highly critical of the federal government’s decision to appeal, with some welcoming the settlement talks, while others called it a stalling tactic.

    “Our First Nations children are our most vital and valuable resource,” said Chief Bobby Cameron in a statement from Saskatchewan’s Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.

    READ MORE: Ottawa should not appeal tribunal order to pay Indigenous kids: advocates

    “This federal government has taken them from their homes and communities and then dragged them through years of litigation and court,” he said. “Enough is enough.”

    B.C.’s First Nations Leadership Council, representing the political wing of the province’s three major Indigenous organizations, said in a statement the government must fulfill its obligations to the children.

    “Nothing changes if nothing changes, and we demand this government put their money where their mouth is,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. “Stop fighting First Nations kids in court, uphold our rights, and take action that supports meaningful and real reconciliation.”


    Ottawa appeals First Nations child welfare ruling but launches talks with parties

    OTTAWA — The federal government is appealing a ruling ordering Ottawa to pay First Nations children removed from their homes, but the parties have agreed to sit down starting Monday in hopes they can reach a financial settlement outside of court.

      
    © Provided by The Canadian Press

    The government filed the notice of appeal late Friday before the Federal Court of Appeal closed, along with its legal window to do so.

    Many Canadians, Indigenous leaders, parliamentarians and advocates were watching for what the government would do, as the case has been seen by some as a test of the Liberals' commitment to reconciliation.

    In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children by knowingly underfunding child and family services for those living on reserve.

    Litigants in the case first brought forward in 2007, say this led to thousands of kids being apprehended from their families and enduring abuse and suffering in provincial foster care systems.

    The tribunal said each First Nations child, along with their parents or grandparents, who were separated because of this chronic underfunding were eligible to receive $40,000 in federal compensation, which was the maximum amount it could award.

    It has been estimated some 54,000 children and their families could qualify, meaning Ottawa could be on the hook to pay more than $2 billion.

    The tribunal also ruled that the criteria needed to be expanded so more First Nations children could be eligible for Jordan's Principle, a rule designed to ensure jurisdictional disputes over who pays for what doesn't prevent kids from accessing government services.

    In 2019, the federal government asked the Federal Court to dismiss the tribunal's decisions. Part of its arguments, according to a court summary, was awarding individual compensation meant there needed to be proof of individual harm.

    The Federal Court upheld the orders last month and Friday was the final day for the government to file an appeal.

    In a joint statement Friday after the appeal was filed, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller and Justice Minister David Lametti said the parties "have agreed to pause litigation" on the tribunal's decision.

    "We have agreed to sit down immediately and work towards reaching a global resolution by December on outstanding issues that have been the subject of litigation," the statement said.

    "This means that while Canada filed what is known as a protective appeal of the Federal Court decision … the appeal will be on hold and the focus will be squarely on reaching an agreement outside of court and at the table."

    The parties to the case are the federal government, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and the Assembly of First Nations.

    Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, said in an interview she was disappointed by the federal government's appeal.

    She said the pause for talks would focus on making child and family services "equitable," to ensure the federal government increases funding for First Nations families.

    "We will not negotiate under any circumstances a reduction in the compensation," she said.

    National Chief RoseAnne Archibald of the Assembly of First Nations said in a statement that while discouraged by another appeal, "we are encouraged that a deadline will be set to negotiate a settlement on this matter."

    Deputy Grand Chief Bobby Narcisse of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents First Nations in northern Ontario and is also a party to the case, called the process frustrating.

    The ministers' statement added that in addition to fair compensation for those who have been harmed, the government is also committing to significant investments to address long-term reform of First Nations child and family services.

    At a news conference Friday evening, Miller said there was no intention to reduce any amounts paid to children who were removed from their homes, but acknowledged those fighting for compensation are skeptical.

    "Trust is thin," he said. "I can't guarantee success on this, but I can guarantee you we'll do our utmost."

    Miller said there is no simple answer as to why Ottawa doesn't just pay victims the money awarded by the tribunal.

    He said if the government implemented the orders as is, members of other class-action lawsuits representing other groups of First Nations children would not receive compensation, and that the matter crosses into different jurisdictions.

    "We could implement the (tribunal's) orders, as written, tomorrow," he said. "It would not fix the system which continues to be broken. It would advance very little on long-term reform."

    "We are juggling very, very complex legal files and when people lawyer up, people get dug in."

    He said the government is putting "a very significant financial package" forward to pay children who have suffered harm while in child-welfare systems, including those behind other class actions. He said he cannot disclose the specific amount but the government knows that proper compensation would amount to "billions of dollars."

    Asked directly whether each First Nations child, their parents and grandparents impacted by the system would receive $40,000 each, he repeated that the details of the package were private.

    "There are children who are entitled to more than $40,000, that's clear," he added later in the news conference.

    Miller said the talks have the potential to be "messy," but he added: "Messy is good. That's where we figure things out."

    NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said it was "deeply disappointing" but sadly not surprising that the Liberal government decided to appeal the ruling.

    "For the past six years, Justin Trudeau has said nice things about reconciliation, but unfortunately, at every opportunity, he fails to back that up with meaningful action," Singh said in a statement.

    In the notice of appeal, the government says Canada acknowledges the finding of systemic discrimination and does not oppose the general principle that First Nations individuals who experienced pain and suffering as a result of government misconduct should be compensated.

    "Awarding compensation to individuals in the manner ordered by the Tribunal, however, was inconsistent with the nature of the complaint, the evidence, past jurisprudence and the Canadian Human Rights Act," it says.

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2021.

    — with files from Marie Woolf

    Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press
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    Report finds Alberta’s ‘fly-in, fly-out’ oilsands workers face significant stress, reluctant to seek help

    By Phil Heidenreich Global News
    Posted October 26, 2021 

     Oilfield workers who fly in and out of work camps can face immense pressures. A recent University of Alberta study is shedding light on the toll the stressful conditions can take on their mental health. 

    A new report looking at the mental health and well-being of “fly-in, fly-out” (FIFO) workers employed in Alberta’s oilsands suggests more needs to be done to help employees deal with significant stress that comes from living in work camps.

    “The report I think in many ways solidifies things that people anecdotally know already about the impacts of fly-in, fly-out work on workers’ mental health and well-being,” said Sara Dorow, a sociologist at the University of Alberta who co-authored the report. “I would say that if anything surprised us it was some of the degree to which some of these issues were affecting workers.

    “We know already that being away from home and family is difficult… What we didn’t anticipate perhaps is the degree to which people report that being a problem.”

    The report saw 72 oilsands workers be interviewed in late 2019 and early 2020 before follow-up interviews were conducted a few months later. Most of those interviewed were workers who arrive from other places in Alberta and
    across Canada “for rotations of six to 21 days, living in work camps while working 10- or 12-hour shifts at nearby worksites,” according to the report.

    READ MORE: Inside the oilsands site that has seen Canada’s largest workplace COVID-19 outbreak

    The study found 87 per of participants reported either some or a lot of stress from being far away from loved ones.

    “The difficulty of establishing and maintaining relationships with family, feelings of loneliness and the inability to be at home for family events or emergencies are significant stressors among FIFO workers,” the report reads.

    Seventy-seven per cent of the study’s participants reported either some or a lot of stress from living in work camps, either because they felt trapped, had limited or unhealthy food options, poor sleep or other reasons.

    Over two-thirds of participants reported stress from their commute to work.

    “Participants’ ratings of general mental health and daily stress are worse than is found in the population,” the report reads. “About half rated their mental health as very good or excellent (46%) or rated most days as somewhat or very stressful (51%).

    “Nearly half (46%) of survey participants had diagnosed long-term health conditions, with half of these (51%) describing their conditions as mental or both mental and physical. These proportions are higher than is reported in the general population.

    “More than one-third of participants (35%) had sought help for their mental health (counselling, medication, and/or information) in the past year — twice as high as reported in the general population. The most frequent reasons cited for seeking help were family and relationship issues, anxiety, depression, trauma, and general mental health.”

    While over three-quarters of the study’s participants said they had access to health-care services while at work or in camp, over half of those people “indicated they would not use these services; this was especially true for
    health care offered on site, where 57 per cent of participants with access to these services indicated they were ‘not likely’ to use them.”

    “People were really concerned about losing a job or keeping a job if they were to report a serious health issue,” Dorow said. “This is exacerbated by the fact we had a lot of contract workers in the study.

    “This is of grave concern… We do know that in the construction trades for example, there is a higher rate of suicide. And so actually making sure that there is a space for people to… report mental health issues is really crucial.”

    READ MORE: Alberta documentary sheds light on men in the oilpatch and suicides

    Dorow said some participants feared there would be repercussions for seeking mental support like damage to their reputation or being more likely to be laid off or not rehired.

    “There can be kind of a tough guy thing: ‘You just have to tough it out,'” she said. “This is deepened by fly-in, fly-out.”

    Dorow said the work is simply a way to make money for many employees and that there is a culture that pushes workers to accept the stress as simply part of the job.

    “To say that this is not for the weak-minded is clearly a problem in the sense that there may be conditions that are being ignored,” she said.

    Sexual harassment and discrimination

    The report says over two-thirds of female participants reported experiencing discrimination at work.

    “Some of the gendered findings are really important,” Dorow said. “I was surprised by how many women reported discrimination and harassment… But also the impacts of fly-in, fly-out on women… There was a much higher proportion of women who reported difficulty sleeping in camp.”

    Dorow, who said she has been conducting research in the oilsands on and off for about 15 years, said she believes some of the issues highlighted in the report could be addressed relatively simply, like ensuring walls are thick enough that someone at a work camp can’t hear snoring in the room next to them, or ensuring healthy food choices are made available.

    “We also found in our report some evidence of cumulative effects of the longer you do this, the more there might be cumulative effects of work/life imbalance and stress and strain,” she said. “It really needs to be looked at systematically.”

    Dorow said ensuring workers feel comfortable accessing mental health supports is a key issue.

    “How do we create a supportive environment…where psychosocial safety is front and centre… So people feel like they can come forward if they have issues and can get safe third-party help when they need it.”

    Dorow said the study was “not as systematic as we would have hoped,” and she hopes more research is done on the subject to spur governments, companies and workers to work together to address the issues at hand.

    © 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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