Updated: Sat Sep. 05 2009 10:47:22

CTV.ca News

A handful of First Nations activists returned home last week after grabbing national headlines in England for protesting Alberta's oilsands developments.

They had travelled to a London suburb as part of a week-long gathering of several thousand environmental campaigners, dubbed the Climate Camp.

Among other concerns, the First Nations group hoped to pressure British Petroleum to halt plans for an oilsands extraction project in northern Alberta.

British Petroleum began a joint venture with Husky Energy, a Canadian firm, in 2007. Production is scheduled to begin in 2012 and reach 200,000 barrels per day by 2020.

"It's kind of a situation where they've bought the house but they haven't decided whether or not to move in," Clayton Thomas-Muller, a campaigner with the Indigenous Environmental Network who made the trip, told CTV.ca by phone from Ottawa.

Clayton-Muller's organization advocates for indigenous communities across Canada and the U.S. that come into contact with oilsands infrastructure such as pipelines and refineries.

He hoped the visit would "spark a movement, if you will, in the United Kingdom around Canada's tar sands," he said. "By the end, it became the primary issue."

The "camp" culminated in a series of protests on Tuesday. Organizers targeted a range of British companies that they say are contributing to global warming through their work in fossil fuels.

More than 100 protesters blockaded Royal Bank of Scotland's headquarters. Seven people in the crowd reportedly glued their hands to the building's windows, police said.

"We went on a sort of tar sands tour of central London," said Jess Worth, one of the Climate Camp organizers.

Protesters also stopped in front of the Canadian embassy in Trafalgar Square and sang a bastardized version of "Blame Canada," a 1999 Oscar-nominated song from the U.S. film "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut."

"That went down quite well," Worth said. "It was very funny."

"What we were pointing out is that Canada is now, because of the tar sands, one of the biggest climate criminals in the world."

Local media outlets picked up on the protests' Canadian bent. The Guargian newspaper published a scathing opinion piece by George Poitras, a former chief of the Mikisew Cree in northern Alberta, after he arrived in London.

"My people are dying, and we believe British companies are responsible," Poitras wrote. "UK oil companies like BP, and banks like RBS, are extracting the dirtiest form of oil from our traditional lands, and we fear it is killing us."

Poitras said the community he's from, Fort Chipewan, Alta., is suffering from abnormally high rates of rare cancers and other diseases. He suspects it's because of the oilsands, which lie 250 kilometres away. About 100 of the community's 1,200 residents have died since 2000, he said.

As less expensive, conventional reserves decline, production from the oilsands developments is expected to triple by 2020. The region contains an estimated 315 billion barrels of oil.

There are three major lawsuits currently underway in Canada due to concerns over how the growing oilsands developments may be affecting nearby First Nations communities, Thomas-Muller said.

One of the cases is underwritten by a British financial institution. In July, Co-operative Financial Services donated $94,000 to help another aboriginal community in northern Alberta sue the provincial and federal governments.

The lawsuit revolves around treaty rights, and the impact that oilsands extraction is having on the lands used by the Beaver Lake Cree Nation. It could take years to hear a decision on the case, and may cost millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, Thomas-Muller is planning a return trip to the U.K. in November to lecture at universities near London, as well as in Scotland and Ireland.

He said he hopes that Canada's oilsands will become a central issue for British environmental campaigners, in the lead up to a meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.

That's when governments from around the world will try to negotiate an agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Comments are now closed for this story

Francis
the evil Alberta oilsands developments should of been stopped 28 years ago. The oil, and gas companies have destroyed the land in norther Alberta, its disgusting. The whole area in and around Fort McMurray looks like a nuclear bomb that was dropped on the land, its ugly. People that live near the oilsands developments are suffering from differet kinds of diseases, and pain. And unfortunately the Government encourages oilsands developments. This is bad, the Government is lost. Howcome the Government does not protect the environment, the land, and people?

I don't understand the strange behaviour of the Government, its weird

something smells
I wonder how much all these "protesters" incomes are?

Nice to be able to "tour" England!

The business of protest

allan
They will try to motivate the Europeans just as they did the anti-sealing nutjobs, and it will probably work in the end. Stick with China and Asia, the hell with Europe

Doug in BC
I think everyone's concerned about this industry.But,at a time when those same people are lined up looking for more money from government,I hope they have some alternative industries in mind that will replace those revenues.
BC's recent budget deficit is almost entirely because of natural gas revenues that are no longer there.And,to a lesser extent,poor markets for forest industry products.All this,at a time when socialists are lining up for even more money,and the health care industry claims they are needing tons more cash.As is the education system.
Tough call.Shut the whole thing down,and we can all freeze in the dark? Or keep going,with the hope newer technology will improve the way the industry works.
Either way,I think it's in poor taste to take our domestic divisions to foreign soil for discussion.Regardless of which side of an issue you are on,I think ALL Canadians should be concerned about the concept of turning the decision making over to foreign nations.Whether we like it or not,resources are still one of the few remaining sources of revenue we need to build this country into something we can be proud to pass on to the next generation of Canadians.And,of course,to finance the social programs we use today.
Presumably,those who suggest we shut down the resource sector to save the environment,have no issue about reducing government spending by the same amount that revenue declines.Or are we simply going to add that to the tax bills of the next generation as well?

Vince
And where will the self righteous brits get their petrol in the future? seal oil, maybe?

G
WOW...real change comes from the masses...

The Mikisew thrive off the oil sands...look at Mikisew Air...

I'll bet these protestors eat food shipped by trucks, by clothing shipped in trucks, drive cars built using energy That comes from fossil fuels) cars also burn fossil fuels...

By local...everything...educate others to do the same and then you'll see a difference in GHG emissions. This the ONLY way to drive change...by your demands that YOU action...nt what you verbalize...

As long as YOU the poeple keep buying everything from soomewhere else the demand for energy will only rise faster than we can develop clean renewable energy.

TerryG
Dear UK, mind your own business. Perhaps the UK could shut off it's oil imports, as you have no oil of your own, and save the planet. I'll bet that would be more emission reduction than all of Canada's measly 2% of world output. Oh, those criminal Canadians!

CC
These Brits and Euorpeans had better start cleaning up their own back yards. I am sick and tired of these hypocrits attacking Canada every chance they get.

Dean
I wonder if any of these brilliant protesters drive cars/trucks. Did they swim across the Atlantic to get to Britain? If none of the above, then why are they protesting? Do they not like heat in their homes in the winter either?

JB in Calgary
The article doesn't mention how they got to London, but I'm sure it would be safe to assume that they didn't use any form of petroleum.

I love how all these activists use petroleum based products everyday but have the gull to protest against them. How about they give us an alternative and don't say Ethanol (anybody who knows anything about chemistry knows that is a joke), instead of pointing fingers at what the problem is.

I think Bruce Willis said it best in Armageddon when the drilling platform was being protested by that ship, "You know how much diesel that klunker boat uses an hour?"

Colin
Ironically, if man had produced the tar sands, these same groups would be demanding that we clean up these hazardous toxic oil sands.

Niagara George
"The lawsuit revolves around treaty rights, and the impact that oilsands extraction is having on the lands used by the Beaver Lake Cree Nation. It could take years to hear a decision on the case, and may cost millions of dollars."

When will the federal and provincial governments of our country wake up?

Alberta knows the oilsands are destroying the environment. They know very well that some day, in future, there will be penalties in the $billions to pay.

The balanced books look good now, but eventually we will all pay.

Sure the oil is needed, but the extraction methods should have been improved before the project went full scale.

Patrick from Albera near Edmonton
the oilsands are dangerous, and the tar sands have created alot of pollution.

It is unfortunate that nothing protects the environment

Steve Eros
Hey Fancis.

No problem. We will shut down the oil sands as per your request but in doing so, you give up the right to complain about the closing of hospitals, social services and schools that come as a result of closing down the oil sands.

You can't have it both ways.

Richard in Saskatoon
the Government is useless

because they don't protect the land, and the environment

there is a lot of pollution in the world, and the Government does not want to clean it, this is bad

the prime minister, and the premiers are lenient regarding our laws, and thats not good

Bill in BC
Once again the eco-lobby is protesting and shrieking about htinks they know nothing of.

Numbed
To the Europe Bashers,

It's easy to tell that many of you have never travelled outside of Canada let alone your own province. Most of Europe is light years ahead of us in education, healthcare and environmental policies. You should be looking at what they have to offer us in these fields.

Terry in Alberta
Personally I'm getting sick and tired of the oil and gas industry always getting the blame for everyone medical problems. I come form 3 generations of oil and gas field workers and my father is 85 and still kicking and myself and my brothers are in our 50's. Surprisedly no cancers or extra fingers or toes have appeared. Now Sarnia Ont. is a whole other story. I will admit that there have been accidents that have impacted local populations, in the short term, such as sour gas well blow outs but for the natives in northern Alta. to blame the industry that is 250KM upriver seems quite a stretch.

Shadowwolf
Those tarsands are death!death to the people who live around there, death the the lands,death to the sacred waters,death from above even ie acid rain yet the readers on this site constantly defend these destroyers and verbally attack the defenders.You sicken me,any who support these death dealers.Your right about that so much is powered by these destroyers.But i have had a vision that soon Alberta will become a dead land a dessert unable to support life,and that every person who works in the tar sands will die from cancer and other deseases.Just as my people are who live near those tarpits.thumbs down me all you want.But why don't you move near those tarpits and see then how you feel around them before you thumbs down protestors and defenders of not only human life but all life in and around those areas.No wonder Canada had such a crappy summer well wait untill this winter.You ain't seen nothing yet supporters of destroyers.

Kevin in Alberta
Since when do we have to listen to Britin? Bottom line Oil Sands will be the future money provider for Canada.

in-cog-neat-oh!
First off... those who haven't developed cancers and extra fingers/toes... that's fantastic! However, chances are your family lives in a town where the water is treated. Many first nation communities do not have the luxury of having treated water. Some FN communities have raw sewage in homes... you aren't drinking the same water. You do not have the same level of preventative care. You have better access to early cancer detection or disease detection.

You're the lucky ones.

We don't all live that way. Some of us are farmers who use the water directly from the land to water the crops that... will one day end up on your table. We don't want to work in the oil fields. We like to work the lands we've worked for generations.

Some of us are natives who prefer to live in the communities we grew up in. We don't want to move to cities. We want to be where we lived for generations.

Does it matter how they got to England? Does it matter if they did a bit of sight-seeing if they travelled as far as they did? They'd be dumb not to. This may be some people's only chance to see the outside world.

I applaud them for seeing the local stuff. They are ignorant. They want to learn new stuff. Maybe it's time you learned some stuff...

SD
I am a Canadian citizen who was a part of these protests earlier this week. The First Nations communities are worried about the future of Canada and so should everyone else. They took time away from their families camping in a British Summer in Black Heath to be a part of this delegation and were a real inspiration to the UK environmental movement.

Development in the Tar Sands is continuing without the most basic environmental and health impact assessments. Canada is one of the only three countries in the world that does not acknowledge basic rights for indigenous peoples.
As a result Canada is not adequately responding to the impacts these projects are having on the health of First Nations peoples.

There needs to be an increase in awareness amongst the Canadian public about the trail of destruction being carved out in your name for short term economic stimulus. The toxic waste left in the water and the acid rain making its way across the country is alarming.

I hope Canada can be inspired by this international protest to listen to what First Nations people have to say about the direct impacts of unregulated mining on the real future of Canada and not just the next financial quarter.

The UK campaign will continue to push BP to stop its investments in the Tar Sands as this is capital that was intended to go into renewable sources of energy, which actually offer the chance for a sustainable lifestyle and job creation.

SK Professional Ecologist
The environmental impacts of the oil sands are grossly exaggerated by environmental groups and their darling media...it's time someone exposed this big lie...

Shadowwolf
As i said to those of you who click on thunbs down on those of us who are against death and destruction.Well i thumbs down you all too,but i don't have to click on it to do that.Now i see you are a selfish lot who don't seem to care for your children or the future becuase,your leaving them nothing but a dead land so that you can selfishly live your materialistic lives.I have had many visions of the future and the way mankind is going those that don't make it threw the shift will be left in a hell on earth.is that what you realy want?that future their is no water no trees no critters to eat,what do you think you will be left with to sustain yourselves when there is no food or water anywhere?So stop defending the destroyers who don't care about you just their own bank accounts while the workers make scraps and are getting sick as we speak without knowing it.Start focusing more on a sustainable future or you who support them will end up in the same hellish future with them.

Nathan
I agree with Francis, and Richard, the Government is useless

Henry
more people are aware that the oilsands, and the tar sands are dangerous in Alberta

albertaclipper
Hi y'all in Britain. I have an idea for you. Because you're so against our "dirty" Alberta oil maybe you can check your prisons and see if you can release more terrorists to countries such as Libya in exchange for your "petrol". You're the worst kind of hypocrites. Someone else said it here. Keep your noses out of our business.

Mike
Shadowwolf: It's people like you that make me fear for the future of this country; spouting off your ill-educated opinions based on emotion rather than intelligent thought and reason. To wish death by cancer upon anyone is the mark of someone teetering on the edge of reality over the abyss of insanity.

By the way, "dessert" is for eating, "desert" is the big, sandy area devoid of vegetation.

kate
To Steve Eros: Why don't you get an education and a real job instead of spewing Bush type rhetoric. You want to destroy the environment and kill us all so you can buy a house and live like a king slugging away in the oil fields with no regards to the effects on your own kids or their kids to come. Let me guess, God is going to save you? Oh wait - 1000 years have passed and future archeologists are digging up your sorry bones and laughing about how you were one of the pagans that perished in your own sludge waiting for the ship to come by.

Let me offer you a glass of kool-aid, my treat!

in-cog-neat-oh!
Sorry, there was a typo in my above message. I wrote "They are ignorant." It should have been, "They aren't ignorant."

I'm first nation myself....

David in Dartmouth
Seal Hunt, Oil sands.... what is next!?

This from the people that strip mined resources from us for over 400 years!

Where were these people when they came here to strip mine our fishery and ignore all International and local laws while doing it.

HYPOCRITES OF THE WORST ORDER!!!

Again, the next time an invader threatens them..... YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!!!!

Our Great Grandfathers and Grandfathers lay in rest in cemetaries over there, for the profound INGRATITUDE being expressed by these people.

NO NEXT TIME!!