Editorial


 
 

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Editorial 
 

A LONG, HOT SUMMER: A CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE 
 

Kathy Crooks 
Editorial Board Member 

 
 

The spring and summer of 2003 have been difficult for many Canadians. This is 
particularly true for those living in predominantly rural areas in the western part of the 
country. Problems began in May of this year when a single cow was diagnosed as having 
Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE). This neurological disorder commonly known as 
“Mad Cow Disease” has effectively shut down the Canadian cattle industry for the past 
four months. Hundreds of cattle have been slaughtered and yet none, since that first case, 
have shown evidence of disease. Shipment of Canadian beef was halted immediately and 
has only reopened recently to allow limited consignment to other countries. 
Unfortunately, as one rancher noted in the local newspaper, "the border is more closed 
than open." Interestingly, cattle producers from the United States have indicated an 
overriding concern for their cattle industry should the border remain closed. The 
governor of Montana and various U.S. senators and human resources that rely on the 
cattle industry for their livelihood. Needless to say, the health care resources of many 
rural areas have seen the result of the stress brought about by this situation.  

The dry, hot summer brought huge wildfires that have decimated large portions of 
the forests of British Columbia. Thousands of people that live in small communities 
throughout the interior of that province had to be evacuated. They stood by helplessly as 
their homes burned to the ground. Firefighters from across the country fought the fires to 
the point of exhaustion with the assistance of the Canadian Military. The Canadian Red 
Cross has asked for nurses to help with the casework that surrounds such misfortune. The 
recruiter I spoke with suggested that nurses are ideal for disaster relief because of their 
problem solving ability, desire and ability to advocate for clients, and skill at accessing 
necessary resources in the midst of such devastation. In the past few day’s much needed 
rain has begun to fall in that part of the country. The expectation is that by sometime in 
October all the fires will be out. 

West Nile Virus, a mosquito-borne disease brought into the United States from 
Africa in the 1960s, has finally found its way to Canada’s Prairie Provinces. 
Saskatchewan has had 68 cases and Alberta has recorded 42. The Canadian Blood 
Service has stopped accepting donations from the area of the country in which I live 
because of the possibility of spreading the disease through blood transfusions.  

I am sure by this time you are likely wondering what is the point of my relaying 
information about this devastation to you. Not only are the determinants of health evident 
in each of the issues faced by Canadians this past summer, but all these disasters piled on 
top of one another demonstrate the resilience of the rural population. This is likely 
something that has been passed down from previous generations. Early settlers followed 
the course of the rivers west and homesteaded large parts of this country. They 
confronted an frequently hostile environment and made rural Canada one of the 
mainstays of this country. Earlier generations lived through the drought of the depression 

 Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, vol. 3, no. 2, Fall 2003
 



 
 

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era and survived the economic setbacks of hoof and mouth disease in their cattle. The 
result of these trials and tribulations was a sense of community that continues to this day.  

Community cohesiveness and resilience is apparent when considering the ways in 
which individuals, populations, and government have banded together to overcome the 
variety of problems rural Canadians have been confronted with recently. When other 
countries refused to accept our beef, communities held barbecue's, sold beef for next to 
nothing from the back of refrigerator trucks, and gave meat to the food banks. As a way 
to promote beef, the Premiers of the Prairie Provinces, as well as other government 
officials, served beef on a bun to attendees at a "Rolling Stones" concert. The 
resoluteness of individuals and communities became apparent during the mass evacuation 
of people from the path of the fires. The devastation left in the aftermath of the forest 
fires has resulted in truckloads of goods being shipped to victims to offset the loss of 
personal items. Others have given up their homes to shelter victims. Still others have 
forfeited vacation time to help out with disaster relief. The government is stepping in to 
assist those who do not have property insurance and communities are beginning to 
recuperate.  

Despite the problems encountered over the past several months, I think that those 
of us who live in Western Canada have discovered a renewed sense of what it means to 
be Canadian, what it means to be from the west, and most importantly what it means to 
be rural. We have stuck together through disease, devastation, and pestilence, and we 
have learned that like our ancestors we too can come back and be even stronger than 
before. 

For questions or comments, e-mail me at kcrooks@acd.mhc.ab.ca. 
 

 Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, vol. 3, no. 2, Fall 2003
 

mailto:kcrooks@acd.mhc.ab.ca