Indigenous Environmental Network

IEN-Canadian Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign

Click Image to View Report from APN Canada Allow Popups to view. Want to be more involved? Contact nowaterforoil@gmail.com for other ways you can help make a difference on this crucial issue and help protect our water resources! If you are in Edmonton: We are holding a press conference at 12:00 pm on Tuesday, May 12th in front of the Matrix Hotel (10640 100th Avenue). There will be several different community representatives speaking about their concerns regarding tar sands and water. Please come out and show your support for these voices! There will also be a public meeting on Tuesday evening from 7:00pm - 10:00pm at the TransAlta Arts Barns (10330 84 ave. Edmonton, AB) where Chief Allan Adams of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Chief Francois Paulette, Elder Spokesman for the Smiths Landing First Nation and former Grand Chief of Treaty Eight, will be present along with many others who are affected by tar sands development. All are welcome! If you are in Calgary: We are holding a small rally at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, May 13th in front of the committee hearings (location TBA). This will be at the same time the Alberta Government is giving its testimony to the committee. Please come out and ensure the committee knows that we need strong action now to protect our water from Tar Sands development! Some of the Issues: In a world running out of clean, accessible water, the question of how and to whom this life sustaining resource will be given is crucial. Water should be a human right. It is required for all life on this planet to exist yet we are quickly turning it into a commodity to be bought and sold like Coca-Cola, giving corporations the rights to it before the needs of people and other living things on this planet. Water contamination and extraction from tar sands production is something that affects all of us! Water is a precious resource, and we cannot afford to have big industry consume and contaminate it irreparably. Tar sands projects are a leading threat to Canada’s water quality. It is estimated that two - five barrels of water are required to produce each barrel of oil extracted from the sands. At least 90 percent of the fresh water used in oil sand extraction winds up in huge toxic tailing lakes. These toxic lakes are the second largest man-made structure, second only to the reservoir of the 3 Gorges Dam. This toxic legacy already spans more than 130 square kilometers of our province and are growing every single day. The tar sands not only devastate water quality, but also risks the health and well being of downstream communities. Already, communities have experienced increased cancer rates and health problems, water reductions in rivers and aquifers, declines in wildlife populations such as moose and muskrat, and significant declines in fish populations. Although downstream communities bare the brunt of the water contamination with increased health problems and devastation to their environment, the water use affects us all. As production grows and climate change continues to parch many of our lands, more and more water will be needed to keep our economies going. This water will ultimately be diverted from rivers, lakes, farms and cities throughout Canada, unless we take action now to ensure industries are well regulated and restricted on their rights to water use. Toxic Industries like Tar Sands have to go! For more information on Tar Sands and water concerns please see: www.oilsandstruth.org www.tarsandswatch.org www.oilsandswatch.org Click here for more information from Environmental Defense

Share your voice and let the Feds know Tar Sands and Water don’t mix! This May the Federal government standing committee on the environment and sustainable development has launched an inquiry into Tar Sands extraction and its effects on the watershed and water quality of Athabasca/McKenzie river. They will be hearing testimony from Industry, Scientific Experts, First Nations Leadership, and NGOs in a series of hearings throughout Ontario and Alberta so to prepare a statement for the Federal government on how they can improve protection and regulation of one of our most precious resources in the face of one of the largest industrial projects. This is an important issue that we all have a right and a responsibility to weigh in on! MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD TOO! If you are in Edmonton: We are holding a press conference at 12:00 pm on Tuesday, May 12th in front of the Matrix Hotel (10640 100th Avenue). There will be several different community representatives speaking about their concerns regarding tar sands and water. Please come out and show your support for these voices! There will also be a public meeting on Tuesday evening from 7:00pm - 10:00pm at the TransAlta Arts Barns (10330 84 ave. Edmonton, AB) where Chief Allan Adams of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Chief Francois Paulette, Elder Spokesman for the Smiths Landing First Nation and former Grand Chief of Treaty Eight, will be present along with many others who are affected by tar sands development. All are welcome! If you are in Calgary: We are holding a small rally at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, May 13th in front of the committee hearings (location TBA). This will be at the same time the Alberta Government is giving its testimony to the committee. Please come out and ensure the committee knows that we need strong action now to protect our water from Tar Sands development! TO SEND IN A SUBMISSION: E-mail a submission of concern about Tar Sands extraction and water use to ALL the addresses below. To: Chair of the Committee: Jim Bezan – Ottawa@jamesbezan.com Cc: Clerk of the Committee: Normand Radford - RadfoN@parl.gc.ca MP Francis Scarpaleggia - scarpf@parl.gc.ca MP Linda Duncan - Duncan.L@parl.gc.ca MP Bernard Bigras – BigraB@parl.gc.ca MP Peter Braid – Braid.P@parl.gc.ca David McGuinty – McGuiDa@parl.gc.ca Mark Warawa – WarawM@parl.gc.ca Blaine Calkins – CalkiB@parl.gc.ca Christian Ouellet – OuellCh@parl.gc.ca Jeff Watson – WatsoJ@parl.gc.ca Justin Trudeau – Trudeau.J@parl.gc.ca Stephen Woodworth – Woodworth.S@parl.gc.ca And PLEASE Cc us at nowaterforoil@gmail.com and Elly@polarisinstitute.org Some questions to think about in writing your submission: How important is healthy water to your life? How does tar sands extraction threaten the health and safety of your water resources? What do you want for Alberta's future concerning water and the tars sands extraction? Who should have the power to decide where water is allocated - the people or the invisible hand of the market? What is the responsibility of government when it comes to regulating our water resources? Should we allocate water to people first or to corporations? As the world is running out of clean, accessible water should we continue to pollute it or protect it for future generations? Your submission can be anything from one page to 10 pages. You can make recommendations to the committee to take action, and include any background information that you may feel would be useful for their understanding on the issue. Click here for more information on guidelines for submissions you can see:

Dear Friends,

The Canadian Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign (CITSC), based in Ottawa, Canada is an emerging Native-based campaign implemented through the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) as part of its Native Energy and Climate Program.

The campaign goal is to seek a moratorium on further tar sands expansion. The campaign is focused on building the knowledge and capacity of First Nation and Métis leadership within the tar sands impact area to actively engage in both a corporate finance campaign and in decision making processes on environment, forests, energy, climate and economic policies, related to halting the tar sand expansion. The First Nations and Métis leadership includes grassroots, elders and youth, in addition to elected First Nation Band Chiefs and Councilors.

"If we don't have land and we don't have anywhere to carry out our traditional lifestyles, we lose who we are as a people. So, if there's no land, then its equivalent in our estimation to genocide of a people." George Poitras, Mikisew Cree First Nation

It is the position of this campaign that since this tar sand expansion in northern Alberta is within First Nations traditional territories, any effective strategy must acknowledge aboriginal title and treaty rights. This is a core focus of this CITSC project that in our opinion must be supported and addressed in any tar sands intervention. The application of aboriginal and treaty rights as a legal strategy implemented by the First Nations themselves is a key focus of this campaign. First Nations and Metis communities must speak for themselves

As noted by the 1996 Canadian federal Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal peoples in Canada are being, "pushed....to economic, cultural and political extinction."

Take Action!

Respect our Original Instructions, traditions and responsibility to protect the sacredness of our Mother Earth.

Demand the Alberta government halt tar sands expansion, address environmental damages and remediation and address human health issues impacting the First Nations, as a result of tar sands operations.

Demand the Canadian federal government recognize Aboriginal Treaty 8 and 6 obligations of the concerns of the First Nations pertaining to the treaty and human rights abuses, the human and ecological health crisis, the climate change impacts, the damages to water and air quality and the recognition of First Nations sovereign rights to implement their own environmental and health infrastructure to regulate and enforce their own laws within their lands and territories.

Demand Canada meets its Kyoto Protocol commitments and halt all subsidies and end all support of the tar sands.

DEMAND the national and international financial and banking institutions immediately DIVEST in the tar sands expansion and operations.

Support Aboriginal Treaties and Inherent Rights

Environmental and climate justice demands the urgent need for a coordinated, collective response led by First Nations and Metis to the tar sands development. Support Aboriginal treaty-rights and their human rights! This campaign calls for a moratorium on the tar sands development. The campaign for a moratorium would be in effect until the concerns of First Nations and Metis are addressed.

These concerns are:

For more information:
INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK
CANADIAN INDIGENOUS TAR SANDS CAMPAIGN
Clayton Thomas-Muller
2-94 Charlotte ST.
Ottawa Ontario K1N 8K2
Canada
Ph: (613) 789-5653
or contact the IEN Main Office at Ph: (218) 751-4967
E-mail: ienoil@igc.org