"President Obama," the ad reads, "You'll never guess who's standing between us and our new energy economy..." Suggesting Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach have turned a blind eye to tarsands impacts, it got a lot of attention from Canada's media.Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation says, "Both the federal and provincial governments have failed our aboriginal community for the sake of money, for the sake of corporate interests, and for the sake of increasing energy exports to the United States. We are seeing disheartening toxicity levels in our animal life and have now received confirmation of unacceptable cancer rates to people in our community. As a people who have been here for thousands of years, we are sad that no one will listen and that government sits back and issues denials and publicity campaigns without substance."
The Beaver Lake Cree Nation of Lac La Biche, backed by the Cooperative Bank, has just launched a court case for an injunction to void Alberta's tarsands permits, grranted without consultation, on grounds that their way of life, as well as fish, animals and plants are being irreparably damaged by pollution: 26 Feb 09 report in the UK Guardian.
These news items were forwarded by CFSC's Quaker Aboriginal Affairs Committee. See previous posts, and Leslie Iwerks' documentary about Dr John O'Connor who was persecuted by Health Canada for his cancer warnings. Her Downstream premiered in December 2008.
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