Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Indigenous

Indigenous nations have protected the earth on their territories for thousands of years. With the government of Canada ignoring their sovereignty, nations not only see massive theft of resources that could help alleviate social problems, but their exacerbation through their further alienation from their own lands, often accompanying being overrun by development and southern workers, while having no self-determination during this process. In the south of Canada industrial farming displaced many nations with often genocidal results. In the north, a modern equivalent of that fate is only just beginning, wrought on by industrial oil and gas drilling schemes (among many industrial plans) that are condemning entire societies, languages and cultures to a precarious future, becoming minorities in their lands for the first time.

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Premiers (Inc. Campbell) promote pipelines to Pacific

Premiers promote pipelines to Pacific
Tom Fletcher
BC Local News
June 16, 2010

Premiers of western provinces and territories wrapped up two days of
meetings in Vancouver Wednesday, pledging to strengthen their east-west
pipelines, power lines and rail links for trade to Asia.

Premier Gordon Campbell, who chaired the annual conference, said western
provinces produce 91 per cent of Canada's oil, 94 per cent of its natural
gas, 27 per cent of its hydroelectricity and all of its uranium, plus
growing sources of wind, bioenergy and solar power.

Comparision of the People´s Agreement and the Copenhagen Accord

A lot of people-- especially ENGO's from North America-- are systematically denying the possibility that we can do the organizing and politicking needed to build a movement that can *really* tackle climate change. The arguments are that the "political will" simply is not there. But what is never mentioned about this line of argument is that the needed will to get there, speaking planet wide, not only is "there" it is _already happening_.

Saskatchewan tar sands development could hurt environment: think-tank

Saskatchewan oilsands development could hurt environment: think-tank
By James Wood, Canwest News Service
June 13, 2010

REGINA — Developing Saskatchewan’s oilsands could harm the environment, a think-tank warns.

A fact sheet released by the Alberta Pembina Institute compares “in situ” extraction used for deep reserves of bitumen — like those found in Saskatchewan — and the surface mining used for shallower deposits.

UK Co-op campaign for ban on tar sands fuel

Co-op campaign for ban on tar sands fuel

June 14, 2010

A coalition led by Manchester’s Co-operative Group has accused EU lawmakers of watering down landmark climate change legislation in order to allow fuels derived from the controversial Canadian tar sands to be imported into Europe.

Last year the European Commission’s proposals for the fuel quality directive penalised tar sands oil for emitting significantly more greenhouse gases than conventional oil, but following lobbying by the Canadian government all reference to tar sands has been dropped.

Stelmach defends tar sands on foreign, domestic fronts

Stelmach defends oilsands on foreign, domestic fronts

Premier calls protests 'unfortunate'

By Jason Fekete, with files from Dina O'Meara, Calgary Herald, and the Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald June 10, 2010

Alberta's oilsands are facing a new cross-border assault, with a community in the U.S. boycotting the resource and a cosmetics store in Canada demanding development be halted.

Foreign workers earn ‘substantially’ less than 'Canadians'

Foreign workers earn ‘substantially’ less than Canadians

June 08, 2010

Nicholas Keung

Temporary foreign workers earn substantially less than their Canadian counterparts and their most common jobs are as live-in caregivers, housekeepers and cleaners, says a new report.

Almost 30 per cent of Canada’s 265,000 non-permanent residents at the time of the 2006 census, including foreigners here on work permits and student visas, had been in Canada for at least five years, according to the Statistics Canada study released Tuesday.

Boreal countdown

Boreal countdown
By Enzo Di Matteo
Now Toronto // June 3-10, 2010

The details of the greenprint signed two weeks ago by eco groups and the forest industry to save the boreal forest are emerging after the 39-page pact was leaked last week. Is the historic Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) as good as advertised?

We break it down in five easy pieces.

1. Burning question

The one on everybody’s mind: why weren’t First Nations included in the discussions?

Greenpeace divided on Boreal Forest Agreement

Greenpeace divided on Boreal Forest Agreement
Leaked conference call obtained by the Vancover Media Co-op exposes divergent views on CBFA

by Vancouver Media Co-op

» Download file 'gp_damage_control.mp3' (3.9MB) by going to the website:
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/audio/3573

A leaked discussion between Greenpeace staff obtained by the Vancouver Media Co-op indicates the group is preparing damage control related to the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, which was announced on May 18.

Climate camp targets RBS in Edinburgh

Four-day climate camp to be held at same time as Edinburgh fringe festival and will protest over bank's links to oil industry

* Tim Webb
* The Guardian, Tuesday 1 June 2010

This summer's Edinburgh fringe festival could be hijacked by climate change protesters after they decided to hold their annual camp in the city at the same time.

"environmentalists and Tar Sands operators to announce eco-agreement"

environmentalists and Tar Sands operators to announce eco-agreement

May 25th, 2010 by salmon guy

Eco-certified?

Well, maybe the subject line to this post is not quite true… but probably soon enough. We can call the products: the eco-tar sands; or Greenpeace Oil; or Suzuki Sustainable Bitumen; or otherwise.