Here’s What is Happening This Week!
Tuesday, October 4th, 2022 - Water Knows No Boundaries: Releasing Toxic Tailings “Ponds” Won’t Either - WEBINAR
Join Keepers of the Water and Environmental Defence on Tuesday, October 4th, 2022 at 7:30 pm EDT/5:30 pm MDT as we dive into the alarming findings of our recent report which mapped decades of the toxic takeover of Indigenous territories by “tailings ponds,” massive reservoirs of oilsands wastewater.
Aliénor Rougeot, Climate and Energy Manager at Environmental Defence, will be joined by our host Jesse Cardinal, Executive Director of Keepers of the Water and local Kikino Métis, panellists Jean L’Hommecourt, co-chair of Keepers of the Water and a local Denesuline woman from Fort McKay, and Daniel T’seleie, NWT Outreach Manager for Keepers of the Water and K'asho Got'ine Dene from Radili Ko.
Jean will speak about her personal experience living downstream of the oil sands, allowing us to understand the harm the industry has already caused. Jesse and Daniel will discuss the dangers of the oil industry’s current attempt to release the tailings’ toxic waste into the Athabasca River.
Link to Webinar
This webinar is free and does not require any personal information beyond name and email.
Tailings: Past and Present
Join Keepers of the Water and the Edmonton Council of Canadians chapter at the Telus Centre (University of Alberta) on Wednesday, October 5th, 2022, 7:00 pm MDT, for the first of our No Dumping! The Past, Present and Future of Tailings in Alberta Symposia.
Join Keepers of the Water and the Edmonton Council of Canadians Chapter for our first symposium, Tailings: Past and Present, online or in person for our first ever collaborative hybrid Webinar Symposia about an imminent and serious threat to the Athabasca River.
Industry and government are using the massive and growing volume of the tailings ponds as justification for a new set of regulations – regulations which could allow for tailings pond water to be treated and released into the Athabasca River.
Water quality is already degrading downstream of the tar sands. While dumping might cost industry less than other tailings treatment options, it will have a dangerous impact on the water and downstream communities and ecosystems.
The symposia will feature speakers with knowledge of tailings technology, history, ecology, Indigenous culture, and the lived experience of communities impacted by the tailings ponds. These sessions will take place in person at the University of Alberta Telus Centre and will be broadcast on Zoom.
We hope you will join us - please mark the dates on your calendars!
Environmental organizations and Indigenous communities are adamant that industry lobbying and government regulators be held accountable for delaying regulatory action and creating the dire situation we are now in. There is a clear record of decades of inaction by both industry and the Alberta Government in particular. Even when regulations are put in place, they have been ignored by industry and not enforced by government regulators.
The potential consequences of inaction are huge. In addition to the impacts on the Athabasca River, a team of UNESCO investigators was recently in Alberta assessing potential environmental risks that could threaten the World Heritage Site status of Wood Buffalo National Park.
Now is the time to raise public awareness and take action around this important issue, before government and industry can quietly announce unethical, undemocratic regulation changes that favour industry profit over the environment and people.
Please join us for these important and informative presentations! Hope to see you there!
**In-person space is limited.**
Questions? Reach us at ckruszewski@canadians.org.