Weekly update: RMWB lawsuit countered, Fort Chip gets health study

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Happy Friday, Fort McMurray!

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• Take the Pledge: Want a chance to win a helicopter ride AND reduce wildfire risk? Pledge to reduce wildfires in the Fort McMurray Forest Area by Aug. 16 and you’ll be entered to win a helicopter tour of the region! Take the pledge today online.
• 2024 Baseball Canada Cup: Fort McMuray hosts 10 provincial teams at Legacy Dodge Field and Ross Hennigar Ball Park. Until August 11. Tickets and information.
• Wood Buffalo Mural Fest: New murals will go up across Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo throughout August and into the fall. The event also hosts community gatherings. Local artist Ruth Perry hosts a morning of rock painting and artistic inspiration at Beacon Hill Park from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 9. A free family-friendly public art exhibition will be hosted at Kiyam Community Park on Aug. 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Schedule of events and murals.
• Afro Canadian Festival of Arts and Culture: Celebrating the Afro-Canadian community of Fort McMurray with food, arts, crafts and live music. Performances by DJ Dynce, Oiltown Records and Sangea Academy’s Drumming Workshop. August 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at J. Howard Pew Park. Information.
• Wicked Week of Wheels: Join us at Supertest Speedway at Area 63 for the Canada Cup! The Area 63 Mini Stock series and Clearwater Contender V8 series returns for another season. August 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Area 63 Motorsports Park. Tickets and information.
• Acden Show & Shine: Acden’s fourth annual car show returns to support the Centre of Hope. Aug. 11 at Acden from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information.
• Rubber Duck Race: The 24th annual rubber duck race returns to Syncrude Athletic Park to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Wood Buffalo. Aug. 11 from noon to 3 p.m. Tickets and information.
• Keyano Junior Huskies Volleyball Camp: Gain the competitive edge before fall high school tryouts with week-long instruction from Keyano Huskies Volleyball Coaches and student athletes. Athletes from out of town and surrounding areas are welcome. August 19-22 at Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre. Information on registration.
• Empty Bowls and Blueberry Festival: The annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the Wood Buffalo Food Bank returns with the Blueberry Festival, which was held for decades every Labour Day weekend until 2008. August 30-September 2 at Snye Point Park. Information.
• Fort McMurray Fringe Festival: Local theatre company Theatre, Just Because is launching the first Fort McMurray Fringe Festival at Heritage Village on Aug. 31. Information.
• Theatre Club: Local theatre company Swamp Rat Experience is hosting a12-week learning and creative performance program for youth ages 7-11. Students learn performing and disciplines such as acting, singing, improv and theatre etiquette. Classes, rehearsals and performances at Composite High School’s King Street Theatre. Registration is open.
• Wood Buffalo Regional Library hosts all-ages weekly events.
• MacDonald Island Park updates its website with upcoming events and programs.
• Wood Buffalo Volunteers has volunteer opportunities for different causes and non-profits across Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.
• Obituaries: Obituaries, memorial notices and sympathy announcements can be uploaded and read online.

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Donnelly counters RMWB lawsuit with $2.1 million claim

A former human resources director accused of secretly approving more than $1 million in “illegitimate” bonuses to senior RMWB staff argues her actions followed existing procedures and were known to the CAO.

Kari Donnelly, who was the RMWB’s HR director between 2018 and 2023, is suing the RMWB, Councillor Keith McGrath and CUPE Local 1505 president Craig Milley for a total of $2.1 million. She is also suing her former employer, TFI International, for $100,000. The company fired Donnelly after it became public the RMWB is suing Donnelly for nearly $202,000.

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Donnelly’s counterclaim alleges the payments were approved under an RMWB program called the Exempt Compensation Plan. This plan is known to administration and council. It is designed to keep non-union management staff by offering competitive salaries against the private sector. The plan allows lump sum payments.

There were no staff pay increases at the start of the pandemic. Donnelly says this caused “disproportionately higher amounts of lump sum payments” in 2021 and 2022. All recipients were senior RMWB directors, including herself.

“Ms. Donnelly could not have, and did not, cause any lump sum payments to be authorized on her own accord. The CAO had to, and in fact did, approve them,” states her counterclaim.

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McGrath and Milley are being sued for comments they made to Fort McMurray Today once the municipality’s lawsuit became public, as well as to council.

McGrath claimed in a June 14 article his concerns about these payments caused Donnelly and senior staff to retaliate with a complaint to the RMWB’s integrity commissioner.

Donnelly says her complaint was made in August 2023 because of McGrath’s “appalling behaviour” she allegedly witnessed on different occasions. This includes allegedly threatening councillors and staff, appearing drunk or high at meetings, and making comments that are “belligerent, rude and/or racist.”

Donnelly accuses Milley of blaming her for the payments the RMWB now calls “illegitimate.” CUPE is accusing the RMWB of violating Alberta’s labour code during previous bargaining talks. She cites comments Milley gave Fort McMurray Today in articles published on June 14 and July 18.

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McGrath stood by his comments to Fort McMurray Today when reached on Thursday. A statement from CUPE defended Milley. The RMWB said it would not be commenting on a legal matter.

The allegations made by Donnelly and the RMWB have not been proven in court.

Feds fund study of potential oilsands health impacts on Fort Chipewyan

The federal government is funding a $12 million, 10-year study on whether the oilsands is causing serious impacts on the health of people living in Fort Chipewyan.

For decades, local leaders have blamed oilsands pollution for causing cancers in their community. Industry groups have denied this claim.

The community-led health study will partner with the Fort Chipewyan Metis Nation and the Athabasca Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nations.

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ACFN’s Chief Allan Adam said at a news conference that the First Nation first asked for a study into community cancer rates in 1992.

“The truth will come out eventually after we’re done this study and industry will be held accountable,” said Kendrick Cardinal, an RMWB councillor and president of the Fort Chipewyan Metis Nation.

A 2009 Alberta Cancer Board study found rare cancers in the tiny hamlet were at the time 30 per cent higher than the rest of Alberta.

A 2014 report from Dr. James Talbot, Alberta’s chief medical officer at the time, found higher than expected instances of cervical, lung and bile duct cancers in Fort Chipewyan. He also found overall cancer rates were not higher than expected and lymphoma rates had dropped.

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The report speculated about risk factors not related to industrial pollution. This included few local medical staff, low vaccination rates, obesity and family history. Talbot did not dismiss a larger study investigating health impacts on communities downstream from the oilsands.

Major wildfires in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo held or under control

The major wildfires burning close to Janvier, the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation, Conklin, and Highways 63 and 881 are either held and no longer spreading or under control.

Wildfires burning north and southwest of Fort McMurray are held. Alberta Wildfire no longer considers them to be wildfires of note.

Wildfires last month caused the First Nation’s leadership to evacuate the community for seven days until July 26. The RMWB ended their evacuation warning for Janvier on the same day. MEG Energy had cut non-essential staff from their Christina Lake oilsands site.

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Multiple fires throughout the region caused Highway 881 to close and open three times in July. At one point a separate wildfire complex forced Highways 881 and 63 to close at the same time, leaving no exit out of Fort McMurray.

Hundreds of firefighters from across Alberta, Ontario, Australia and South Africa helped tame the dozens of wildfires in the region.

TMX pipeline making a difference, likely to curb differential volatility, oil companies say

The difference in pricing between U.S. and Canadian oil may fluctuate slightly but is likely to avoid significant volatility and the “blowouts” of the past due to the start of Canada’s newest oil pipeline, a top Suncor Energy Inc. official said on Wednesday.

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX), which officially opened on May 1 and connects Alberta and the British Columbia coast, helped Canada’s oil producers get better prices and cut the differential between Canadian and U.S. oil in the second quarter.

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The second quarter was the first in which Canada’s oil producers got a chance to taste the benefits of the new pipeline. The $34-billion expansion almost tripled the capacity of the existing pipeline that ships oil products from Alberta to Burnaby, B.C., for export.

“We have seen TMX have the impact that … we were looking for,” said Geoff Murray, an executive vice-president at Cenovus Energy Inc., on an earnings conference call last week.

Scott Stauth, president of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., said the pipeline has had a positive impact on Canada’s economy and represents “a significant achievement” for all Canadians.

Calgary Herald columnist Chris Varcoe writes “oilsands operators continue to crank up production in 2024, filling pipelines and fuelling plans to add transportation capacity out of Western Canada in the coming years.”

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Canadian oil producers, frustrated by greenwashing ‘curve ball’, delay environmental reports

While executives at Cenovus and Canadian Natural Resources spoke positively about TMX, both companies expressed their concerns over Canada’s new greenwashing rules and urged for more clarity from the government.

In June, Pathways Alliance, a group formed by Canada’s six largest oilsands companies that is working on reducing carbon emissions, surprised many when it removed all content from its website after the government enacted Bill C-59, which, among other things, addresses what some call greenwashing.

The act of greenwashing occurs when companies provide false information regarding how environmentally sound their products are or when they deceive the public by making unsubstantiated claims about the steps they are taking to protect the environment or reduce their carbon emissions.

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The bill states that the methods promoted by businesses to protect the environment need to be based on verified methods and should be in accordance with “internationally recognized methodology.” The oilsands industry wants more clarity on what this specifically means.

Both Cenovus and Canadian Natural Resources have delayed publishing their environmental reports. Both companies have said the legislation did not change their commitment to the environment.

Jeff Lawson, a senior vice-president at Cenovus, said the new law is a “curve ball” that’s frustrating the industry and has been a “tremendous amount of distraction and work for an incredible number of people.” He is, however, hopeful of getting more clarity towards the end of the year.

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Ottawa Senators sign Fort McMurray’s Carter Yakemchuk

Carter Yakemchuk has signed on the dotted line.

The Fort McMurray-born defenceman was selected seventh overall at the draft. He has spent the last three seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen and will be in Ottawa when camp opens in September.

Getting the contract out of the way allows Yakemchuk to focus on getting ready for what will be a big year.

He was invited to participate in the summer camp held last week in Windsor for candidates for Team Canada at the 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation world junior championships.

It just so happens those will be held at the Canadian Tire Centre and TD Place Arena during the holiday season, which means there’s a good opportunity here for Yakemchuk to show what he’s got in a city where he could start his NHL career.

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Yakemchuk, who has good size at 6-foot-3, scored 30 goals and 71 points in 66 games with the Hitmen last season, and finished second on Calgary in scoring.

“The obvious is his offence, but he’s got the size, skating ability, the shot from the blueline and his ability to move in to use the full depth of the offensive zone,” said Senators chief scout Don Boyd. “He’s got a little bit of an edge to his game on the back side. I felt that he had a presence that a lot of other people don’t.”

Fort McMurray Knights celebrate 50 years of rugby

It may have been the first time he had seen Shell Place and his friends were a lot older, but Neil MacLean still felt it was just like the old days.

The Fort McMurray Knights Rugby Club celebrated their 50th anniversary on Aug. 3 with a day of rugby and an evening gala. About 150 athletes from across five decades travelled from across Canada and the United States for the reunion.

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MacLean was one of four people who founded the club in 1974. He had come to Fort McMurray as a construction worker to build what is now Beacon Hill.

There was no rugby presence in the city at the time until MacLean and a group of friends put posters up across the city that said there would be rugby training every Tuesday and Thursday nights at Father Turcotte School. The club was an immediate hit.

“It became a close-knit family team. Over the years it just kept expanding. Anyone who played for the Knights became part of the Knights family,” said MacLean.

The club has struggled to form adult teams for regular season competitions in recent years. A men’s and women’s team came together for this year’s Edmonton Rugbyfest, though.

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Some club leaders blamed the smaller membership on the increasing reliance of transient workers and work camps in the oilsands. Others blamed recent layoffs in the oilsands, the nature of shiftwork, and the economic challenges from fluctuating oil prices and the pandemic.

Alumni were also happy to see the large number of local children and teenagers playing rugby alongside the older crowd. The club has a youth program and has introduced the sport to schools.

More photos of the event can be found in the article.

Fort McMurray Giants working on stronger 2025 after disappointing season

At the start of the season, head coach Joe Ellison was confident the Fort McMurray Giants would continue their strong performance seen in 2023. He hoped the Giants would win at least 36 games and have a strong showing in the playoffs. Things didn’t turn out that way.

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Instead, the Giants failed to qualify for playoffs. They finished second last in the western division of the Western Canada Baseball League. The team had 36 losses and 20 victories.

“I’m a little disappointed in how we played and how the season finished. I mean, after making the playoffs last year and setting the win record to regress to how we did was frustrating,” Ellison said in an interview.

“We were on the wrong side of a bunch of stuff that we just couldn’t control.”

Ellison said the Giants led the league in transactions, making 23 roster moves during the two-month season. About 60 athletes played for the team. Only a handful of players stuck with the entire season. It was difficult for the team to mesh.

“We’re going to try and create a system that is fair but also firm in the commitment they have to make to the community and to the team,” said Ellison, adding some players left for understandable reasons such as family issues.

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There were some successes. Crowds at Legacy Dodge Field were larger and social media saw more engagement from people. The Giants partnered with Drum Brewing to sell a made-in-Fort McMurray beer at games.

“It was a big step forward as an organization in terms of community engagement and ticket sales. I just wish the team performed at a level it did last year,” said Ellison.

“In 2025 we will do better again. We’re going to continue doing what we’re doing off the field and continue to grow the brand within the community.”

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