`Off the chart´ air quality readings in Saskatchewan´s southeast raise new concerns - but little public warning
(The Star Toronto Raptors)

ALIDA, SASK.—The front door of the Gervais farmhouse is little more than a stone’s throw to some of the tens of thousands of batteries, pump jacks and flare stacks that burn off the gaseous residues of the province’s oil boom.Louis Gervais has lived here his whole life and, with his wife, Lucille, and their children, has farmed the surrounding acres. They have earned part of their livelihood from the 17 oil wells and tanks that started appearing on their land — as close as 200 metres from the family home — when 67-year-old Louis was only 5.His parents, like many Saskatchewan farmers, bought into the promise of oil. And it paid off, helping to amass a sprawling property with its two homes and a vast collection of antique cars.When the Star first travelled to the Gervais farm last year, Louis dismissed concerns about the health impacts from the nearby oil facilities, saying he was reassured by the province’s oversight of the industry.“Nothing has ever happened here yet, so that’s why we’re not worried,� he said then.But the Gervaises’ sense of reassurance about living beneath the trailing black clouds rising from nearby flares has changed in recent months.Read more:That rotten stench in the air? It’s the smell of deadly gas and secrecyPollution from Canadian refineries an ‘embarrassment’ compared with U.S.Toxic gas nearly killed this oil worker. His employer never told the provinceProvincial incident reports and new “off the chart� air quality indicators reveal public health concerns reaching across southeastern Saskatchewan that have gone unpublicized, and unpunished, for years. The readings were gathered by researchers from Northeastern and Harvard universities, who are working with a national collaboration of journalists from the Toronto Star, Global News, the National Observer, the University of Regina and the Institute for Investigative Journalism at Concordia Univ ...