Soon after moving to work at The Red Deer Advocate in 1978 I learned that Albertans do not fit the stereotype outsiders have of them. Even in supposedly redneck Red Deer, a rapidly growing centre servicing the petroleum and agriculture industries, there was significant diversity of opinion.

Ten years ago, on Jan. 25, 2009, Bishop Luc Bouchard, then bishop of St. Paul, Alta., issued one of the most courageous and most ignored pastoral letters in Canadian Church history. “The Integrity of Creation and the Athabasca Oil Sands” did create a brief firestorm before dropping out of the public eye. On the 10th anniversary, nary a mention was made of the letter.