Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer A critical cancer study commissioned by a First Nation remains incomplete because Alberta Health Services hasn’t released health data from 2022 onwards — data the Mikisew Cree First Nation says is essential to prove a link between industrial contamination and rising cancer rates in the northern Alberta community. At a press conference in Ottawa this week, Chief Billy‑Joe Tuccaro announced preliminary findings showing 149 confirmed cancer cases between 1993 and 2022 in the community of roughly 900 people — and that cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan are at least 25 per cent higher than the rest of Alberta. But the numbers, he said, are likely much higher — closer to 250 or even 300 by his estimation. That would mean cancer…
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