First Nation accuses Alberta of withholding cancer data – MBC Radio

Apr 16, 2026

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 has touched around six out of every 10 households in Fort Chipewyan, directly down the Athabasca River from Alberta’s oilsands.

Read More: https://www.mbcradio.com/2026/04/first-nation-accuses-alberta-of-withholding-cancer-data