Article originally published in Edmonton Journal

Author of the article: Jeff Labine

Publishing date: Nov 22, 2019 • Last Updated November 22, 2019 • 1 minute read

Indigenous, environmental and public interest groups are speaking out against the development of an oilsands mine in Alberta’s northeast.

The Teck Frontier oilsands mine is located between Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan and is currently awaiting approval from a joint provincial and federal panel. The mine hopes to produce 260,000 barrels per day by pipeline once at full production.

Eriel Deranger, executive director of Indigenous Climate Action, held a news conference on Friday along with other Indigenous, environmental and public interest groups.

The groups hope the newly minted federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson will put a stop to the project. Deranger plans to send Wilkinson a letter outlining their concerns.

“It will be over 29,000 hectares of land in the heart of Canada’s boreal forest,” she said. “It will produce over six megatons of emissions annually. This project is absolutely moving the line in the wrong direction.”

The mine’s life expectancy is 41 years. The company expects to employ 7,000 people during peak construction and 2,500 throughout operations.

The mine is expected to generate $55 billion in total provincial royalties and taxes and $3.6 billion to municipal property taxes.

The company says it will recycle water to minimize impacts to the Athabasca River, keep greenhouse gas emissions to one half of the oilsands industry average and reclaim the land as mining progresses.

Indigenous Climate Action argues the project will have significant impacts on the wildlife, the wood bison and local forestry. The group claims the project will use 24,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water each year.

Teck, which started consultations in 2008, also has agreements with 14 Indigenous communities in the project region.

Deranger said the company is misleading people into thinking the communities have signed off on the project when the agreements are about the potential impacts and benefits the mine will have.

The federal government is currently taking comments from the public and Indigenous groups on the project until Sunday.