From Allan Adam, A Chief of the First Nations fighting expansion of Canada’s Tar Sands
Dear friends across Canada,
My name is Allan Adam and I’m the Chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.
Canadian First Nations Chief Allan Adams at a recent media conference with rock artist Neil Young on the bad road Canada is going down with the tar sands.
The government and Big Oil CEOs are slamming Neil Young for speaking out on the Tar Sands and the poison they are sending to my people. But if you join Neil and me, together we can create a wave of protection for my home.
The government just approved a giant Shell company project on our land in Alberta, even though it admits it will likely wreak havoc on the land and water my people depend on — and infringe on our treaty rights. But with Neil getting people talking, the government and Big Oil are worried Canadians will start to question the unchecked expansion of the Tar Sands that line their pockets.
The Prime Minister won’t budge unless he thinks he could lose support from voters. Let’s show him Canadians of all political leanings want respect for our rights and the land. Click below and Avaaz will deliver all our voices directly to the government. Sign now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/neil_young_vs_big_oil_d/?bRUUpdb&v=34676
One hundred and fourteen years ago my people signed a treaty with the Government of Canada. The Shell project as it stands will violate that treaty. So we’re taking legal action to get a court review of the approval of the mine. We can’t wait – the cancer rate of my people living downstream from the Tar Sands is through the roof. And industry plans to more than double production of the Tar sands, one of the world’s dirtiest forms of oil. So this is about protecting the environment we all cherish.
The government doesn’t want Canadians thinking about these things. That’s why they’re paying public relations companies millions and millions to promote the Oil Sands – instead of meaningfully engaging with the ACFN and other First Nations. And then along comes Neil Young and disrupts their story. That’s why Neil’s got the Prime Minister and Big Oil worried – they know Canadians are starting to listen.
So please join us, and Avaaz will make sure the media and the PM know that Canadians across the country and the political spectrum want to end the poison and destruction caused by unchecked tar sands expansion. Sign now by clicking on the link below:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/neil_young_vs_big_oil_d/?bRUUpdb&v=34676
We are a proud people, and we will keep fighting for our rights, for the well-being of our land, and for the rights of every Canadian to have a conversation about the real impacts of the Tar Sands, one of the most important issues of our time. I’m honoured by your support.
With hope and solidarity,
Allan Adam, Chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, with Avaaz, a global web movement to bring peple-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.
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What a quandary we’re in:
=> on one hand, none of us want to see the wilderness changed to the extent that it destroys habitat & communities downstream
=> on another hand, we aren’t willing to STOP FLYING & DRIVING – including Neil Young & Chief Adam.
=> as well, Canada earns tremendous taxes and Canadians earn employment in the Tar Sands – we are a Mining nation, after all. Think of how many of your family & friends are dependent on job in the Tar Sands.
=> furthermore, if we shut down the Tar Sands and buy our oil from abroad, we will have Fewer jobs & taxes. Governments will cut spending to balance their books, and they Rarely cut the wages of civil servants – they cut programmes serving people on the bottom, as nearly-bankrupt Ontario has already started doing.
What would You do to solve this problem?
What have You done to cut Your oil & energy consumption?
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@Lorne White: I got a job as a renewable energy technician. Every penny that goes into my industry is met with unabashed scrutiny, meanwhile nuclear, and more importantly the expensive infrastructure associated with Hydro One who maintains the transmission system is nary the subject of our flaccid fifth estate. Big oil, big nuclear, big subsidies! That’s what I am doing about your Harper government’s obsession with mortgaging my children’s future so that big energy can make a tidy buck off what should be Canada’s wilderness.
Don’t get me going on Canada’s mining mega corporations, try to read some Mark Taliano to get a feel for what these companies have done off the profits from backbreaking labour off our grandparents generation.
Meanwhile a hippy that still stands for values long since pimped off by his fellow boomers is gonna be put under the microscope?? Chief Allan is at fault because he doesn’t want a 700 acre cow pasture in exchange for the destruction of thousands of acres of forest that could yield a net benefit for generations and generations of both Native Canadians and native Canadians yet to come? Give me a break!
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Thank u! We need good leaders to help us win this war against big corporations we are fighting. We are really fighting for our children’s futures. We need to wake up the planet!
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