Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

Katie returns to the oil sands, this time in an administration position. Living conditions are way better than at Long Lake, and Lindsay is also here. The mandatory orientation safety video is now a joke to Katie. Her new boss is Ryan, a cheerful, mostly easy-going man, and her office-mate is Emily. Her other coworkers include Hatim, a more chauvinist colleague who is secretly a caring father, and Doug and Damian, two coworkers from Long Lake. Katie clashes with Doug, who resents her for leaving blue-collar work for an office job but still re-teaches her how to do tool crib repairs. Katie is also more cynical about the “white hat” upper management, who celebrate “three million man hours without a lost time incident” while ignoring the fact that this data is altered (289). Similarly, when the “white hats” visit, Katie is photographed as the single woman among the men to showcase the company’s diversity. The good safety gear, coveted by the workers, become “souvenirs” for the “white hats” after their brief visit.

During a visit with Becky, who now lives in town and commutes to the oil sands, Katie learns about Becky’s stalker at Long Lake.