BY MIKE DE SOUZA, POSTMEDIA NEWS OTTAWA — Tailings ponds from oilsands production are leaking and contaminating Alberta’s groundwater, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was told in an internal memo obtained by Postmedia News. The memo, released through access to information legislation, said that federal government scientists, including Quebec City-based research geoscientist Martine Savard, had
Public Action Making Headway in Stopping ‘Dinosaur Industries’
Todd Paglia Forest Ethics My Puget Sound fishing partners are six and eight years old – my sons Nico and Luca. Despite our best efforts we are not yet a major threat to our iconic Northwest salmon – but all that time fishing gives us a lot of time to appreciate the gorgeous islands,
EU executive thwarts Canada lobby on tar sand oil
By Barbara Lewis and Jeffrey Jones REUTERS BRUSSELS/CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Canada’s urgent hunt for buyers for its oil is being thwarted as the European Commission sticks to a plan to label fuel from tar sands deposits as highly polluting, deterring refiners bound by environmental rules. Intense pressure from Canada, seeking new markets to compensate
Dutch Disease not a major factor in Canada’s manufacturing woes, report argues
By JULIAN BELTRAME TheTyee.ca The belief that the commodities boom of the past decade caused the decline in Canada’s manufacturing sector is being challenged in a new report that also takes a swipe at the notion of the loonie as a petro-dollar. The report, issued by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and written by economist Philip Cross,
Climate concerns are key in Keystone XL pipeline debate
Nathan Lemphers Pembina Institute Concerns about oilsands pipelines dominated Canadian headlines in 2012, and the issue is unlikely to step out of the limelight anytime soon. Hearings into the Enbridge Northern Gateway proposal are expected to continue until the middle of this year; meanwhile, proposals to move oilsands bitumen through pipelines to Eastern Canada are also
Mikisew Cree, Frog Lake begin litigation against omnibus bills
By Shari Narine Sweetgrass Contributing Editor MIKISEW CREE FIRST NATION Less than a month after pledging at an Idle No More rally in Edmonton that the Mikisew Cree First Nation will fight the federal government on its lack of consultation, Chief Steve Courtoreille has made good on his promise. On Jan. 8,
Mikisew Cree, Frog Lake begin litigation against omnibus bills
By Shari Narine Sweetgrass Contributing Editor MIKISEW CREE FIRST NATION Less than a month after pledging at an Idle No More rally in Edmonton that the Mikisew Cree First Nation will fight the federal government on its lack of consultation, Chief Steve Courtoreille has made good on his promise. On Jan. 8,
Oil Sands Industry in Canada Tied to Higher Carcinogen Level
Watershed Sentinel Nebraska, January 8, 2013 – For years, independent researchers have maintained that mining tar sands releases toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Now, a new study funded by the Canadian government confirms those findings. The study found that pollution from tar sands had contaminated lakes as far as 55 miles away from
Deep In Canadian Lakes, Signs Of Tar Sands Pollution
npr An increasingly large share of U.S. oil comes from Canada’s tar sands. There are environmental consequences of this development, but until recently, Canadian regional and federal governments left it to the industry to monitor these effects. A new study follows other recent rigorous scientific studies that have found
Deep In Canadian Lakes, Signs Of Tar Sands Pollution
npr An increasingly large share of U.S. oil comes from Canada’s tar sands. There are environmental consequences of this development, but until recently, Canadian regional and federal governments left it to the industry to monitor these effects. A new study follows other recent rigorous scientific studies that have found ecological effects
Northern Alberta braces for disruption as Idle No More blockade planned for Highway 63
BY CAILYNN KLINGBEIL EDMONTON JOURNAL EDMONTON – As northern Alberta organizers of the Idle No More movement warn of plans to blockade Highway 63 near Fort McMurray, people in the region are bracing for the impact the disruption could bring. “If it’s a full closure, it has a dramatic impact, not just on
Highway blockades permitted: RCMP
By Vincent McDermott FortMcMurrayToday.com Plans for future roadblocks along highways 63 and 881 are expected to proceed, say several local organizers with the Idle No More movement. As long as the protests remain peaceful, however, RCMP detachments in Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray will likely not prevent protesters from blocking the two main
Highway blockades permitted: RCMP
By Vincent McDermott FortMcMurrayToday.com Plans for future roadblocks along highways 63 and 881 are expected to proceed, say several local organizers with the Idle No More movement. As long as the protests remain peaceful, however, RCMP detachments in Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray will likely not prevent protesters from blocking the two main
‘Smoking Gun’ Research Reveals Tar Sands Cancer Legacy
By Andy Rowell Oil Change International Chief Theresa Spence is entering what is hopefully her last week of a hunger strike. The Canadian indigenous leader, and public face for many of the Idle No More movement, has said she will finish her fast on Friday when she meets Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Attawapiskat First Nation Chief
The Foul Legacy of the Tar Sands: Lakes Turned Into Cancer Sites
by Kristina Chew Care2 Back in 2010, residents near the shores of Canada’s Lake Athabasca called on the government to commission an independent study about the impact of the tar sands development in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan on the environment. Lake Athabasca is located downstream from one of the major tar sands developments and residents,
