Human Rights and Resource Development Project, Albertans’ Concerns about Health Impacts and Oil and Gas Development: A Summary by Nickie Vlavianos, Research Associate Canadian Institute of Resources Law, February 2006, Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre and Canadian Institute of Resources Law, University of Calgary
In September 2000, 93 percent of Canadians expressed concern that environmental hazards are affecting the health of their children. … Scientific research over the past four decades continues to establish actual and potential links between environmental quality and human health. Tragically, the residents of Walkerton, Ontario were made all too aware of this interrelationship in May 2000. E. coli bacterium from cattle manure contaminated the town’s water supply, causing the deaths of seven people and the serious illness of hundreds of others. Other examples of the health effects of environmental degradation and contamination abound. Most notably, the harmful effects of second-hand smoke on the health of non-smokers is now beyond question. In short, there is broad consensus that “… substances that are released into the environment can ultimately find their way back to us in various amounts and combinations through out air, water, soil and food, and can affect our health and the health of ecosystems.” …
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act is subtitled “[a]n Act respecting pollution prevention and the protection of the environment and human health in order to contribute to sustainable development”. The Act’s preamble also recognizes that “… the protection of the environment is essential to the well-being of Canadians ….” Similarly, Alberta’s environmental legislation highlights that “… the protection of the environment is essential to the integrity of ecosystems and human health and to the well-being of society”. … While conventional oil and natural gas development continues at a brisk page, nonconventional development of coalbed methane (or natural gas in coal)…is just beginning. … In short, the concern is with the cumulative effects of the total sum of oil and gas operations and other industrial activities within a region. ….”[a]n important difference is the fact that groundwater is the only source of drinking water for a large percentage of rural Albertans, thus increasing the risk of human exposure and health impacts.” … Despite the absence of uncontradicted scientific proof and consensus, some argue that “a growing body of hard scientific evidence” is emerging which “… seriously challenges the industry claims that their activities have no negative health and environmental impacts.” [Emphasis added]