First Nation accuses Alberta of withholding cancer data – Canada’s National Observer

April 15 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.

Read More: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/04/15/news/alberta-first-nation-cancer-study