Is the Land Still Safe?

For Indigenous peoples living in northeastern British Columbia, traditional foods are more than sustenance – they are integral to their culture, history and health. But for some families, the food harvested from the land or water comes with questions.

Recent dramatic growth in hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” which releases chemicals into the environment that can harm human health, has raised concerns about how safe it is to consume animals and plants in Peace River Valley. In this vast landscape of undulating plains, boreal forest and towering cliffs, First Nations communities hunt, fish and forage for food.

“I hear a lot from community members that they are concerned about the potential health implications of eating traditional foods,” says Élyse Caron-Beaudoin, an assistant professor in environmental health at U of T Scarborough.

Caron-Beaudoin is part of a multi-university research team working with two First Nations communities to examine whether industrial contaminants have found their way into these food sources. The five-year study, launching this summer with funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is inviting community members to provide samples of game such as moose, deer and grouse; fish such as pike and trout; as well as berries, mushrooms and medicinal plants. Researchers are also recruiting 150 adults to provide hair, nail, blood and urine samples, along with tap water. These samples will be tested for trace elements such as aluminum, cobalt, mercury and selenium, which can be harmful at certain concentrations.

The effort is urgent, Caron-Beaudoin says. Hunting, fishing, trapping and foraging remain central to the treaty rights, culture and livelihood of Treaty 8 peoples. They also play a critical role in food security, as traditional foods are generally more nutritious than the costly, often less-than-fresh options at the area’s one small grocery store – a function of operating in a sparsely populated rural region.

“I’m really hoping we don’t find anything concerning, because it’s an area already suffering from food insecurity and higher food prices because of the remoteness of the region,” says Caron-Beaudoin, who leads UTSC’s From Bench to Communities Lab, which examines how industrial activities affect health and well-being. “Some people are so concerned about potential contamination of these foods that they don’t eat them.”

Among those worried is co-principal investigator Julian Napoleon – a biologist, agrologist and member of Saulteau First Nations who runs a small vegetable farm. “We are a land-based people, and our country foods are a defining component of our culture,” he says. “The safety of these foods – especially for our mothers, babies and children – is essential to our cultural survival.”

Members of West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations sit on an oversight committee helping to ensure the study reflects community priorities. They advise on everything from data ownership to how investigators communicate results.

“The real experts are the people living in this region who are subjected to these environmental injustices,” Caron-Beaudoin says. “We want to make sure our work is culturally appropriate.”

Fracking has become B.C.’s dominant form of gas production. Since 2000, nearly 18,000 new gas wells have been drilled, the majority of which employ fracking. The process involves pumping water, sand and chemicals at high pressure deep underground to crack shale rocks and release natural gas – generating byproducts that are known or suspected carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, endocrine disruptors and respiratory irritants. Historically, little has been known about how fracking might affect the health of people who live more directly off the land.

This began to change in 2016 when Caron-Beaudoin joined other researchers to study the presence of fracking-related contaminants in urine and hair samples from 29 pregnant women. They specifically looked at metabolites of benzene and toluene, two volatile organic compounds that are associated with negative birth outcomes, and 19 trace metals, many of which can interfere with fetal development.

The team found benzene metabolite levels that were 3.5 times higher than those measured in the Canadian population, suggesting higher benzene exposure. These findings triggered a series of more in-depth investigations.

One subsequent study of thousands of birth records found that women living within five to 10 kilometres of fracking wells had greater risk of low birth weight, though the data patterns were too inconsistent to establish a firm link to fracking exposure. Another study examined the indoor air and water in the homes of pregnant women and detected above-average concentrations of dozens of volatile organic compounds.

Caron-Beaudoin views her work as part of Canada’s broader reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples. She hopes the findings will provide communities with evidence they can use to advocate for stronger protections – and peace of mind.

“My role here is to answer questions and relay information to support First Nations partners in any effort they may undertake,” she says. “Providing this information, hopefully, will help bring about better regulations and protections around traditional foods.”