Last week, reports regarding a growing number of deformed fish found in the waters downstream from the oilsands prompted environmental advocates and community leaders to call for a federal inquiry.
Now, according to a recent CBC News article, Francois Paulette, a member of Smith’s Landing Treaty 8 First Nation in the Northwest Territories and George Poitras, a former chief of the Mikisew Cree in Alberta, have met with U.S. officials to discuss the potential environmental impact of the “dirty” fuel made from the oilsands. The concerned First Nations leaders asked American officials to oppose the proposed TransCanada Corp. Keystone XL pipeline that would ship oil from the oilsands into the U.S.
“What we wanted to bring is the big picture of how tar sands development is impacting a vast territory in the North — from climate change, to chemicals in our water, to the caribou herds that are becoming endangered,” said Paulette in a recent press release posted by the Pembina Institute. “A lot of our people are really concerned.”
