Animals

Suncor, contractors charged with dumping into Athabasca (article one of two)
JEFF CUMMINGS, METRO EDMONTON
March 11, 2009

Oilsands powerhouse Suncor and two of its contractors have been charged under Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act with 90 counts of dumping poorly treated sewage water into the Athabasca River.

The companies, which were all charged back in February 2008, are also accused of providing misleading and false information to the province for two years at Suncor’s work camp north of Fort McMurray.

‘Tar sands are killing us’
Cree, Metis, Dene tell Sen. John Kerry
By Kate Harries, Today correspondent

Story Published: Mar 11, 2009

TORONTO – Dene, Cree and Metis activists from First Nations affected
by Alberta tar sands development made themselves heard in Washington
as Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice was making the rounds of
Capitol Hill.

They hand-delivered a letter to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., head of the
powerful Foreign Relations Committee, and later about 50 young people

Secret documents reveal sweeping new rules for natives

Native leaders warned Ottawa not to re-open the governance file unless it's willing to hold wide-ranging consultations but classified papers show government moving ahead
BILL CURRY
Globe and Mail
March 3, 2009

OTTAWA — The federal government is secretly planning an overhaul of the rules governing Canada's reserves that is far more sweeping than what Ottawa is telling Canada's chiefs and native leaders.

The Canadian oil sands dilemma
March 1, 2009
by John Guerrerio,
Energy Examiner

Giant grinders loosen layers of dirt and sand to get to the oil below.

Three charged in death of philanthropist
PETER CHENEY
Globe and Mail
March 2, 2009

TORONTO — Three men have been arrested and charged in the 2007 shooting death of wealthy Toronto philanthropist Glen Davis, opening a dramatic new chapter in a long-stalled murder mystery.

“This was a lengthy and complex investigation,” said Staff Inspector Brian Raybould of the Toronto Police Homicide squad.

*Oilsands will never get a fair shake*

*Lamphier:* I've always had a thing for National Geographic. Without
access to its pictures, I'm sure I would have flunked Grade 5 geography.
My projects on the Great Pyramids of Egypt or the lost Incan city of
Machu Picchu would have been a crashing bore. I know that in my heart.
_*MORE...*
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Business/Oilsands+will+never+fair+shake/1...

* Canada needs the oil sands*

*NP:* National Geo-graphic magazine's current ar ticle on Al -berta's

Co-op backs Canadian oil fight

February 26, 2009

MANCHESTER-based Co-operative Financial Services said today it was backing legal action by Canada's Beaver Lake Cree Nation in its fight to stop tar sand developments by oil giants including Shell, BP and ExxonMobil.

CFS said it would fund the Alberta community's efforts to demonstrate the impact of tar sand developments on their traditional way of life and seek injunctions to prevent them.

It’s time to rethink harmful tar sands projects
By Roy Strang - Peace Arch News
February 17, 2009

There may, after all, be a small silver lining in the dark fiscal cloud hanging over us.

It’s so small that it’s hard to discern amidst the monetary gloom, but it’s there nonetheless.

Alberta gets fresh black eye with oilsands coverage
By Kelly Cryderman, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 22, 2009

CALGARY - It seems the Alberta government can't catch a break.

To add to the long list of international publications that have focused on the environmental costs of the oilsands, National Geographic chose its March edition to splash images of the development - with at least four pictures depicting unsightly tailings ponds - across its pages alongside an article.

POLITICS: Rhetoric and Reality Clash on Obama's First Foreign Visit
By Chris Arsenault

VANCOUVER, Feb 20 (IPS) - On his first foreign visit as U.S.
president, Barack Obama's rhetoric of "hope" and "change" came face to
face with the hard, divisive policy realities of climate change from
Canada's tar sands, a growing insurgency in Afghanistan and the
sputtering world economy.

Some 2,500 spectators lined the streets of Ottawa to watch the
president's motorcade make its way to Parliament Hill, a marked