Karla Labrecque’s doctor refused to do a blood test until he consults with a local politician

[arikara]

...

For many months, Mike Labrecque did not connect his headaches, dizziness and weight loss with fumes from the oilsands operations. That April 2012 day he drove to the Baytex field office on his land and said felt too ill to take his tractor to a well pad to pull out a truck. “I told them I can’t do it, I was afraid of losing consciousness” and if that happened while he was driving, the tractor might run into the bitumen storage tanks. In the field office “I said: Is there anything you can do? And the field officer said, ‘I will call the supervisor.’

“A short time later he said ‘Hand in your time sheets, you’re done.’ That’s how it ended.”

Labrecque thought for a long time he had a flu he could never shake. He lost 40 lbs. He noticed his symptoms began to clear up when he moved away. Karla and Alain Labrecque were the first to leave. Karla, who was home with the kids in the fumes all day had constant headaches, fell down the stairs, and watched her two-year-old daughter lose her balance too often.

...

http://www.ernstversusencana.ca/karla-labrecques-doctor-refused-to-do-a-blood-test-until-he-called-the-local-mla-mike-labrecque-got-sick-working-for-baytex-baytex-lets-him-go-youre-done

This is long, there is a lot of info on this page.

Other than the first nations there is a real disconnect with people living around the tar sands. They never seem to put 2 and 2 together when they get sick, or their stock dies, or their water goes bad. I mean, how could you not suspect that the vile fumes you are working in is what is making you sick. Or the stench enveloping your farm is killing your family. The company knew, that's why they fired this guy and they get away with it because they have the doctors scared to diagnose people. Even more dismaying, once people realize that they are being poisoned they still say they support the industry. Its no wonder these companies are getting away with murder.

[kristopher]

1. Please consider cross posting to the energy and environment forum.

Thanks for the article.

[alfredo]

2. KnR

[KT2000]

3. I can tell you how

people do not figure out what is happening to them. It is what happens to most people who are injured by environmental exposures. Simply, you lose the ability to evaluate your surroundings.

Think of times you have been sick but still had to go to work etc. You push yourself to do what you need to do. Your body compensates for fatigue and ill feelings by pushing harder. Over time, the person is losing their ability to analyze their environment as their energy is focused on just getting done what you need to do. In other words, putting 2 and 2 together becomes harder and harder. I will bet you that this couple had trouble taking care of their day to day responsibilities such as paying bills on time, meeting social obligations, organizing etc. They will reach a point where they can no longer compensate - lifelong disability with organ damage including brain.

It is slow motion poisoning and most people don't realize it is happening to them. And it doesn't take a tar sand - it could be a sick house, chemicals in the workplace, accidental spills. Most are treated the same as these people by the medical community, state & federal agencies, and employers.

[arikara]

11. Yes that makes sense

But once they realize, they still always seem to support the industry even though it's killing them and destroying their home.

[burrowowl]

4. K&R

[WillyT]

5. K & R !!!

[12ZTR]

6. Too Bad but..

"You can't fix stupid." -Ron White

[KT2000]

10. they are not stupid

they are slowly being poisoned. It is an insidious process where people are not aware of the gravity of the situation until it is too late.

[blkmusclmachine]

7. POISON.

[laundry_queen]

8. Here's the thing

Awhile back, there was an eco-terrorist that claimed all the same things these people are saying about their health. His name was Wiebo Ludwig and he was convicted of bombing a few oil and gas sites because he said they (oil & gas companies) wouldn't listen to him and that they were poisoning his family.

The ridicule and fall out after that from people in the oil and gas industry was intense in the Peace River region (I lived there for 5+ years during some of the time in question). He was vilified in the media which would have made sense if they were vilifying him for the bombings and vandalism, but they were vilifying him for his claims about how the health of his family was being affected. He was seen as a total loon. And NO ONE wanted to be associated with him in any way, shape or form.

In my opinion, it has taken this long for people to realize Wiebo may have actually had some legitimate complaints (though no one excuses what he did, least of all me since my then-husband very narrowly missed getting blown up since he worked at those same sites and missed one explosion by a few hours). People are just now starting to come out and speak up against the oil companies. It's hard to explain the hold these companies have on the population in those areas. Oil and gas is THE employer. And it's not just 'jobs' it's the quality of the jobs - the companies treat most employees very well, pay well, give extremely good benefits...I think until now people haven't really seen a downside, because the environmental damage is contained to certain areas, and the rest of the province has vast areas that are relatively untouched. The tide, however, is turning and people are getting concerned, you can even see it in the comments - 10 years ago that is not the response you would've had from a similar article.

[CanSocDem]

9. Indeed!

The upshot of the case against Wiebo was that it became clear that the RCMP worked for the oil industry and not for the people of Canada.

There was suppressed evidence back in the '70's of catastrophic health problems on First Nation reserves adjacent to Uranium City. We need our own "Erin Brokovitch".....excuse the reference "...They're called tits, Ed."