Indigenous

Arctic Energy Resources Will Be Needed
by Floyd Roland
Published November 6 2008

Canadians right now are concerned about the economy. As our largest trading partner faces the prospect of recession, businesses and individuals in Canada are worried about what that will mean for us. The outcome of the U.S. presidential election and its consequences are also on the minds of many Canadians. And the ongoing turmoil in world financial markets has reminded us just how inter-related global affairs have become.

Ft. Chip residents, activists protest oilsands intrusion
Clara Ho, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 12:00 am

Mike Mercredi is ready to fight what he calls the "slow industrial genocide" that oil companies are waging on the people in his hometown of Fort Chipewyan.

Last year there were over 20 deaths in the community of 1,200 people. Many were cancer-related deaths, which Mercredi said are linked to the oilsands activities in nearby Fort McMurray.

"Let's put a lid on it and slow things down," he said. "The graveyard is getting full."

CALGARY, Alberta, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Imperial Oil Ltd's (IMO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) third-quarter profit surged 70 percent as crude prices hit records before the world financial crisis led to a steep drop, Canada's largest oil producer and refiner said on Thursday.

Imperial, which is majority owned by U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), earned a company-high C$1.4 billion ($1.1 billion), or C$1.57 a share, in the quarter, up from year-earlier C$816 million, or 88 Canadian cents a share.

Deputy Premier aims to increase trade with Middle East

Edmonton... Alberta Deputy Premier and Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations Ron Stevens will support a delegation of 30 Alberta companies to the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), the largest oil and gas conference in the Middle East.

The four-day conference brings together more than 1,800 exhibitors from around the world, featuring 200 international speakers and is one of the highlights of the Oct. 30 to Nov. 14 mission.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Activists met in Vancouver Sunday to talk strategy around
resisting the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

While opposition to the Games has been steady since before Vancouver won
them in 2003, protests are usually connected to a single of the many issues
around them.

But dozens gathered at the one-day conference to focus on converging
Canada's diverse activist community under one banner for the Games.

"It's important to use to connect with each other," said conference
participant Phillipa Ryan.

"Our humanity needs to be respected."

Enbridge weighs stake for aboriginals
From Herald News Services
Published: Saturday, October 25, 2008

Enbridge Inc. is considering offering aboriginal groups an equity stake in its planned 525,000-barrel-a-day Northern Gateway oilsands export pipeline in order to secure support for the project, a company official said Friday.

Enbridge, Canada's No. 2 pipeline company, is still working out details of how large a stake it would offer to native communities along the pipeline's route. As well, it has to firm up how any such stake would be financed.

Trillions of dollars' worth of oil
High Stakes in Canada’s Vast Oil-Sands Fields
George Tombs, The Christian Science Monitor

The relentless search for oil has led explorers to the boreal forest of northeastern Alberta, among the jack pines and black spruce trees an hour's drive from the boom town of Fort McMurray. Kelly Hansen, operations manager at ConocoPhillips's $1 billion Surmont oil-sands plant, holds up the prize: a beaker of sticky black “synbit,” a 50-50 blend of bitumen (a viscous, tarlike petroleum) and synthetic oil.

Positive step forward for pipeline
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 6, 2008

INUVIK - A major piece of the puzzle that is the Mackenzie Gas Project has fallen into place.

Access and benefits agreements have been reached between the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and project proponents.
NNSL Photo/Graphic

Construction of the $16.2 billion Mackenzie Valley Pipeline is awaiting regulatory approval and the inking of access agreements similar to one signed by the Inuvialuit last week. - NNSL file photo

Crude Profits
Saturday October 18, 2008
by Joshua Neuhouser

OIL SANDS-PART 2: "Where I Come From Is Ground Zero"
By Chris Arsenault*

Michael Mercredi, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan/Dene First Nation, says people in his small community are experiencing rare cancers because of the tar sands.

Credit:Chris Arsenault/IPS

FT. MCMURRAY, Oct 17 (IPS) - The wheels of the Caterpillar 797B, the world's largest truck, are always going round and round at Shell Canada's Albian Sands mine.