During his final remarks as moderator of the 2008 General Assembly, Rev. Cheol Soon Park asked for special prayers for Canada’s oil industry.
“It’s a remarkable resource, and we need it,” he told commissioners and staff during the first session of the 2009 assembly. “Although a lot of money can be made by extracting oil quickly, we need to be responsible. We need to ensure that the next generation and the generation after that still have access, and do not have to bear the cost of restoring the land.”
Park had just returned from a tour of Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands that allowed church and aboriginal leaders to meet with industry representatives, workers, government officials and aboriginal communities. The tour was sponsored by KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives and ran from May 21 to 27.
Canada boasts some of the largest oil reserves in the world—second only to Saudi Arabia—and its petroleum industry is a booming employer in the midst of an uncertain economy. But the industry has its environmental dark side. Processing heavy crude, such as that found near Fort McMurray in northeastern Alberta, requires large quantities of water and substantial amounts of natural gas, making oilsands projects the largest contributors to Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Water contaminated by the process is also stored in large ‘tailing ponds,’ which environmental groups allege can seep into nearby water sources.
During an interview with the Record the week before assembly, Park expressed particular concern for the people of Fort Chipewyan, a small town 300 km north of Fort McMurray. Cancer rates are unusually high in the town, which is located downstream from several oilsands developments.
“That’s a harsh reality,” Park said. “People are dying there.”
A report released by Alberta Health Services in February claimed more study is necessary to determine if the oilsands operations upstream are to blame for the town’s higher than normal cancer rates. Park said such noncommittal responses from scientific studies and government officials have frustrated local people.
“We need to slow down, do more research,” he said. He also expressed desires to see a more balanced approach to issues surrounding Alberta’s oil. Although he believes Canada needs the oilsands, he expressed concern about the speed of the mining processes. As oil becomes an increasingly valuable commodity, the pressure to increase production may lead to large deforested areas or, if an underground pipe ruptures, liquid bitumen could leak into the water system—a possibility an industry spokesperson described as “catastrophic.”
At assembly, Park described expansive stretches of barren ground as church leaders flew over some of the land mining sites.
He urged commissioners to follow up on the process that began with the leaders’ tour, and to keep the industry in their thoughts and prayers.
“It’s not their problem, it’s our problem. We’re the consumers of this oil.”
