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Globe and Mail
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
The summer job that put actor Tantoo Cardinal at the heart of a tiny Alberta town
After a school year away in the big city, a teenaged Tantoo Cardinal returned home to the tiny hamlet of Anzac, Alta., and fell into a summer job at the town's only store. In this latest instalment of The Globe's 'How I Spent My Summer' series, the legendary Dances with Wolves and Legends of the Fall actor and activist shares how she learned that some gigs are worth well more than the money – even at a buck an hour. I'm from Anzac, Alberta. It's just an hour southeast of Fort McMurray on the highway now, but this was 1966 before the road went in. Fort McMurray was just starting to be known as a boom town. I was 16. A year before that, I'd essentially left the Anzac community to go to high school in Edmonton, but now I was back home for the summer. I never had to look for a job in Anzac, but I always had one: I babysat, I dug potatoes on farms, I filled in at the Fort McMurray hospital answering phones for my sister-aunt – she's my grandmother's baby, nine years older than me, and I was raised by my grandmother, so that's how she became my 'sister-aunt.' I spent most of my free time hanging around the Anzac store. Anzac was a very small community and it had only one store, Willow Lake Mercantile, for everything: Groceries, clothes, supplies. We sold rope and oil for lamps and gas, eventually. Things that are useful for rural people, and we either had what they wanted or we didn't. Once a week, the train would go through from Edmonton to Fort McMurray, and that was pretty much our lifeline for outside merchandise. We got what we got. I didn't apply or anything to work at the store, because I wasn't that kind of person. But since I was there hanging around all the time anyhow, the manager would give me things to do. I'd tally up people's goods, I'd straighten things up, I'd sweep the floor and stock the shelves. Whatever had to be done. This wasn't a city store with a staff. Sometimes I'd be there all by myself managing the whole place. The summer that Joshua Jackson realized he wasn't a morning person They paid me like a dollar an hour, I think, which was better than before, when I did the same job for free. My family had briefly been keepers of the store, but other people manage it now. It was nice to earn a little bit of money, but I didn't need or buy much and wasn't all that into money anyhow. At 16, I had no sense of the value of time. The job was just something to do and I didn't mind doing it. There was nothing to love or hate about the job, I was just kind of doing life. I knew I wouldn't be there forever – it was just what I was doing right now to get by. I think this mentality helped me survive in the world of acting for a long time. Money wasn't the prominent reward; the prominent reward was being around people you wanted to be around. We counted once and Anzac only had 99 people. If someone new got off the train, it was a big deal. If we didn't know them at all, we'd call them 'beatniks,' but usually we'd find out they were connected to the community somehow and then we knew them too. I wasn't much of a salesperson because I wasn't very talkative, but I was a really good listener. With the road going in, there were so many major changes occurring all around. People from Fort McMurray would soon have access to our lake, and there was all this dust in the air from people driving in and leaving their trash around. There was this sense that things were changing and it wasn't gonna be just us anymore. It felt like the walls were coming down around this little world we had going on. This was all so different from my new life in Edmonton, which had been a bit of a culture shock, because I didn't know anybody. If you were friendly with somebody, they looked at you like there was something wrong with you and ignored you. Here, I knew everyone and had known most all of them all my life, which I recognized was very special but wouldn't last. As told to Rosemary Counter
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Hungry bear takes a bite out of John Deere lawn mower: Alberta Fish & Wildlife
Alberta Fish and Wildfire staff with the bear while relocating it safely (left), the destroyed seat of a lawn mower after the bear made a meal out of it (right). (Source: Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement) A bear near Fort McMurray may have bitten more than he could chew when he destroyed the seat of a lawn mower last month. A cinnamon coloured black bear tried to make a meal out of the foam seat of a John Deere lawn mower while foraging for food, Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement said on social media Monday. The department says it has received similar complaints over the years of bears destroying seats of vehicles, heavy equipment and off-highway vehicles. The bear was found walking around a remote work site. Fort McMurray Fish and Wildlife staff used a helicopter to capture and relocate the bear on May 21 and the province says it was brought to a suitable habitat area. Bear being relocated in Alberta The bear being lifted and relocated to an area with a suitable habitat. (Source: Alberta Fish & Wildlife Enforcement) This situation serves as a reminder that almost anything with a smell can attract a hungry bear, the department said – even an old chair cushion. The province has tips on its website on how to avoid encounters with bears.
CTV News
13-06-2025
- CTV News
Body found after northern Alberta house fire
An undated photo of an RCMP cruiser. (CTV News) Police are investigating the discovery of a body after a house fire in northern Alberta. Emergency crews were called to the fire at Chipewyan Prairie First Nation south of Fort McMurray at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. The body was found after the fire was extinguished. Mounties are working alongside the fire investigator to determine the cause of the blaze. Anyone with information is asked to contact 780-788‐4040.
CBC
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Alberta to explore injecting oilsands tailings deep underground as disposal option
The Alberta government says it is considering letting oil companies inject wastewater deep underground as a way to manage the toxic tailings that are accumulating in the oilsands. The idea is one of five policy recommendations being put forward by a government-appointed committee tasked with studying potential tailings management options. A new report from the committee, which was formed over a year ago and is chaired by United Conservative MLA Tany Yao of Fort McMurray, says injecting mine water underground is a practical solution — but considering over 1.4 trillion litres of tailings exist as of 2023, it can't be the only option. "The accumulation of [oilsands mine water] represents a management challenge, particularly in the absence of established water release standards," the report reads. "This approach helps to mitigate the continued accumulation of [tailings] and provides a buffer while longer-term water management strategies are being developed and implemented." The report doesn't say exactly how much of the existing tailings volume it recommends to be disposed of in this way, but that "regulated limits should be placed on the volume of water that can be injected." The committee's report says underground disposal of tailings — which are mixtures of water, sand, bitumen residue and chemicals — wouldn't ruin sources of drinking water as the wastewater would be disposed of underneath many layers of impermeable rock. However, the report says there are a number of factors that would make underground disposal at a major scale a costly and lengthy endeavour. New infrastructure and pipelines would need to be constructed since "there are limited geologically suitable deep well disposal sites" close to the oilsands, and if new underground wells are to be drilled the timeline for approval and consultation also "may not contribute towards an accelerated strategy to manage and reduce accumulated [tailings] on the landscape." The committee — which includes former Alberta environment minister Lorne Taylor and University of Alberta engineering professor and Canada Research Chair in sustainable and resilient wastewater treatment for reuse Mohamed Gamal El-Din — also wrote that this disposal method would be in direct competition with carbon capture and storage projects for underground space. Alienor Rougeot, the senior program manager of climate and energy with advocacy group Environmental Defence, said she's happy to see the Alberta government recognize the urgency of the tailings ponds, but she's skeptical underground disposal is as safe as the committee is making it out to be. "I don't know that we are at a stage where we could even say if we can safely inject anything down there," she said, adding that any tailings disposed underground would have to be treated completely. In a letter accompanying the recommendations, Yao wrote that the committee "is satisfied" that technology exists to treat and safely release tailings water. Rougeot said such a claim is news to her. "If they have a solution to fully treat the water to a quality that's good enough to be put into the environment, that water should be good enough to be back into the production process," she said, noting the committee's report states oilsands mining operations use about 220-billion litres of fresh water every year. Rougeot said if the government is serious about tackling the problem of tailings in the oilsands it should make a requirement that companies can no longer use fresh water in their mining operations, especially if the technology exists to treat it to a degree that's safe for environmental release as Yao wrote. "There's more than enough existing tailings volumes to meet all the needs of all the production on a given day," she said. "I want to see first a 100 per cent reuse rate of the existing tailings, and then we can talk about disposal." Another recommendation being made by the committee is for Alberta to make policy changes to encourage companies to share wastewater across different types of oil mining facilities in order to reduce the need for freshwater use, and therefore the production of further tailings. Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said in a government release Thursday that her ministry will evaluate the committee's recommendations over the next six months before implementing a new tailings management plan. "We need to start finding a path to more effectively manage oilsands mine water and tailing ponds," Schulz said. "Doing nothing while mine water continues accumulating is not a sustainable approach." NDP environment critic Sarah Elmeligi agreed with Rougeot, saying in a statement that injecting tailings underground would be "irresponsible because we don't know the risks involved to groundwater or geological stability." "Nothing in these proposed methods remotely comes close to addressing future environmental and health impacts and we have already seen many Indigenous communities living downstream continue to deal with these consequences," Elmeligi said.
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Alberta to explore injecting oil sands tailings underground as one management option
A highway loops around a tailings pond at the Syncrude facility as seen from a helicopter tour of the oilsands near Fort McMurray, Alta., on July 10, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh The Alberta government says it is considering letting oil companies inject wastewater deep underground as a way to manage the toxic tailings that are accumulating in the oilsands. The idea is one of five policy recommendations being put forward by a government-appointed committee tasked with studying potential tailings management options. A new report from the committee, which was formed over a year ago and is chaired by United Conservative MLA Tany Yao of Fort McMurray, says injecting mine water underground is a practical solution -- but considering over 1.4 trillion litres of tailings exist as of 2023, it can't be the only option. 'The accumulation of (oilsands mine water) represents a management challenge, particularly in the absence of established water release standards,' the report reads. 'This approach helps to mitigate the continued accumulation of (tailings) and provides a buffer while longer-term water management strategies are being developed and implemented.' The report doesn't say exactly how much of the existing tailings volume it recommends to be disposed of in this way, but that 'regulated limits should be placed on the volume of water that can be injected.' The committee's report says underground disposal of tailings — which are mixtures of water, sand, bitumen residue and chemicals — wouldn't ruin sources of drinking water as the wastewater would be disposed of underneath many layers of impermeable rock. However, the report says there are a number of factors that would make underground disposal at a major scale a costly and lengthy endeavour. New infrastructure and pipelines would need to be constructed since 'there are limited geologically suitable deep well disposal sites' close to the oilsands, and if new underground wells are to be drilled the timeline for approval and consultation also 'may not contribute towards an accelerated strategy to manage and reduce accumulated (tailings) on the landscape.' The committee — which includes former Alberta environment minister Lorne Taylor and University of Alberta engineering professor and Canada Research Chair in sustainable and resilient wastewater treatment for reuse Dr. Mohamed Gamal El-Din — also wrote that this disposal method would be in direct competition with carbon capture and storage projects for underground space. Aliénor Rougeot, the senior program manager of climate and energy with advocacy group Environmental Defence, said she's happy to see the Alberta government recognize the urgency of the tailings ponds, but she's skeptical underground disposal is as safe as the committee is making it out to be. 'I don't know that we are at a stage where we could even say if we can safely inject anything down there,' she said, adding that any tailings disposed underground would have to be treated completely. In a letter accompanying the recommendations, Yao wrote that the committee 'is satisfied' that technology exists to treat and safely release tailings water. Rougeot said such a claim is news to her. 'If they have a solution to fully treat the water to a quality that's good enough to be put into the environment, that water should be good enough to be back into the production process,' she said, noting the committee's report states oilsands mining operations use about 220-billion litres of fresh water every year. Rougeot said if the government is serious about tackling the problem of tailings in the oilsands it should make a requirement that companies can no longer use fresh water in their mining operations, especially if the technology exists to treat it to a degree that's safe for environmental release as Yao wrote. 'There's more than enough existing tailings volumes to meet all the needs of all the production on a given day,' she said. 'I want to see first a 100 per cent reuse rate of the existing tailings, and then we can talk about disposal.' Another recommendation being made by the committee is for Alberta to make policy changes to encourage companies to share wastewater across different types of oil mining facilities in order to reduce the need for freshwater use, and therefore the production of further tailings. Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said in a government release Thursday that her ministry will evaluate the committee's recommendations over the next six months before implementing a new tailings management plan. 'We need to start finding a path to more effectively manage oilsands mine water and tailing ponds,' Schulz said. 'Doing nothing while mine water continues accumulating is not a sustainable approach.' NDP environment critic Sarah Elmeligi agreed with Rougeot, saying in a statement that injecting tailings underground would be 'irresponsible because we don't know the risks involved to groundwater or geological stability.' 'Nothing in these proposed methods remotely comes close to addressing future environmental and health impacts and we have already seen many Indigenous communities living downstream continue to deal with these consequences,' Elmeligi said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025. Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
