Asbestos Not Deadly in Former Calgary Army Barracks

October 20, 2006 - Inspectors for Health Canada have told members of the Tsuu T’ina nation that the homes they’ve been living in illegally for the last several years do not contain dangerously high levels of asbestos.

The residents of the Black Bear community, just west of Calgary, were encouraged to leave their homes last week because of a scare over damaged asbestos in the housing units, which once served as barracks for the Canadian army. More than 800 members of the Tsuu T’ina nation have been squatting on the property for the past 8 years, since the Harvey Barracks closed.

Morten Paulsen, spokesman for Health Canada, said they began testing the units this week after a fire revealed damaged asbestos in one unit.  Paulsen told the Calgary Sun that the initial results of the air quality tests reveal the asbestos level is lower than the acceptable standard.

"Those are preliminary results, but encouraging from a health and safety standpoint," he said. He added that more tests would continue and results would be released as soon as they are available.