Alberta News (12)
ALONG JASPER AVENUE in EDMONTON, AB
FEDERAL CANADA PLACE TO ALBERTA PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE BUILDING
FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2013 from 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM
WE NEED A GOAL OF 3000 PEOPLE OR MORE FROM ALL ACROSS ALBERTA TO WALK IN THE ALBERTA CAPITAL TO TELL ALBERTA
"OUR WATER IS NOT FOR SALE"
For all of our future.
Please join us, your future literally depends on it.
All People Are Affected, Water is not selective...we ALL NEED IT...SO LET'S STAND TOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY
From Canada Place (9777 102 Avenue) to Alberta Legislature Building (10800 97 Avenue)
The Alberta Government is currently working on policy that will place all of Alberta's water on a market. You know that pond in your land, that stream in your community?..The Alberta Government is going to stake claim in all of the water, and place it on a market. That means that pond behind your house, you will have to pay to use that water, but if someone has more money and pays more for it, they can use it, whether that be Cenovus, Statoil, you name it, the highest bidder will have much control over the water. In 2006 the first ever water market was created in Canada..guess where? Southern Alberta, in Treaty 7 territory.
Now the plan is to place all of Alberta on a water market. Water is not a commodity, it is not to be sold, and NO ONE OWNS THE WATER, we are all given it for life. All living beings require water for survival. Water is a human right, one which the Alberta Government is currently trying to control.
In this proposed policy which is being said will come out in the fall of 2013, there are certain people who have first rights to water. It is called FITFIR, FIRST IN TIME, FIRST IN RIGHT. In 1894 a system was set up to encourage settlers to settle in Alberta, everyone who settled was given a water licence, under this new policy, those people have first right to water, but with the water market, those original license holders can sell their water to whoever they want.
Make no mistake, the Alberta Government is setting up a system to make it easier for Industry to have access to large amounts of water. Industry contaminates water until it's unusable, so there are massive amounts of water being taken out of surface and underground aquifers by FRACKING, SAGD, OPEN PIT MINING, COAL that takes the water and most is unable to be returned; what is returned, becomes poisonous toxic tailing ponds...with high risk of getting the ground or other water sources. For example, look at the Fort McMurray plant, the tailing ponds are right next to the Athabasca River and directly upstream from well populated Indigenous communites. Highly recommend watching the movies Revolution by Rob Stewert and White Water, Black Gold by David Lavallee.
On May 24 the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta is meeting in Edmonton to review policies, most of which, I am sure none of us have been made aware, consulted on, or even know about. One of those policies we are certain will be to privitize all water and place it on a market, with the highest bidder having control. In the proposed policy, guess who has last rights to small amounts of water? First Nation people and if you are not First Nation, please don't think you are in any better of a situation...you aren't! If you are not a big company, chances are, you won't have any more rights to water.
On May 24th we will march from Canada Place to the Legislature to tell the Alberta Government, in unity, that
"OUR WATER IS NOT FOR SALE"
For all of our future.
Please join us, your future literally depends on it.
Hiy Hiy.
We also encourage other Idle No More Organizers to plan relative Water Events all across Alberta.
PREPARATION FOR MARCH:
We are asking all participants to assist in awareness of the sacredness of water; bring to light the disrespect of water; and how Indigenous Nations and non-Indigenous Communites are being affected by Industry through oil exploration and other means like seismic, fracking, etc..
- Drinkable: We also ask all attendees to please bring the "Water of Life" with you. We encourage and prefer (if possible) all to bring the water in steel, ceramic, or glass containers. We highly encourage steel due to the movement required on the march. We do prefer (if possible) "non-plastic" containers as it's made from oil by-products.
- Non-Drinkable (Target Group - Boil Water Advisories, Well Contamination etc.): We ask all participants to collect water from your home/nation/community. Suggest collected at least a week before event.
- DIRECTIONS for Labeling (DO NOT place in sun):
- Place in a glass canning jar
- Date & Time
- Location (place, GPS if possible, water source etc.)
- Who Collected
- Type of poisoned effect (ie. Fracking, Boil Water Advisory, Flammable)
- When first contaminated (if know) ie. When Anadarko did seismic testing in 2005
- DIRECTIONS for Labeling (DO NOT place in sun):
PATH OF THE JASPER AVENUE
MARCH FROM CANADA PLACE TO ALBERTA LEGISLATURE BUILDING
Approximately 13 Blocks
FURTHER LINKS AND READS:
- Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/586723621358198/
- Twitter: #M24WATER & #idlenomore
- Our Water in NOT for SALE: www.ourwaterisnotforsale.com
- The Council of Canadians & Water: http://www.canadians.org/water/
- Numbered Treaties in Canada: treaty_map_16qual.jpg
- Treaty 6, 7, & 8 Territories Map in Alberta: fnmap_1315588194895_eng.gif
- Treaty #6 Territory (Alberta): http://www.treatysix.org/member_nations.html
- Treaty #7 Territory (Alberta): http://www.treaty7.org
- Treaty #8 Territory (Alberta): http://www.treaty8.ca
- First Nations in Alberta: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100020670/1100100020675
- First Nations in Saskatchewan: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100020616/1100100020653
- Canadian Crown: http://canadiancrown.gc.ca/eng/1332788662861/1332788724918
- EcoJustice & Backgrounder on Bill C-45: http://www.ecojustice.ca/files/nwpa_legal_backgrounder_october-2012/
posting: group collaboration of Volunteering Organizers
EDMONTON - A waste-water pipe at Suncor’s oilsands plant leaked into a pond of treated water Monday, and the resulting diluted water flowed into the Athabasca River, a company official said Tuesday.
Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said a pipe froze and burst, causing a leak that was discovered by an operator during rounds, which happens each shift. The pipe was 10 centimetres in diameter.
It is not known how much waste water flowed into the pond, which contained water that had already been treated and was ready to be returned to the river.
Communities downstream from the plant were notified about the incident and tests are underway to determine if the river water has been affected. Tests results will be available in the coming days.
Both the company and government officials emphasized they are taking the incident seriously.
“We have determined that some process-affected water went into that partially frozen outfall pond and then to an approved discharge point, where it was then diluted with water that is approved for and intended for release,” Seetal said. “From there it would have flowed into the river.”
“An approved discharge point is an area approved by regulators for water to flow into the river,” Seetal said.
“Process-affected water” is water used in Suncor’s extraction and upgrading process that has not yet been treated, Seetal said.
Environment Minister Diana McQueen was not available to comment Tuesday, but press secretary Wayne Wood said the government is taking the incident “very, very seriously.
“What happened at Suncor is a good example that our system does work, that our crews are able to respond very quickly to these kinds of situations and make sure that industry is meeting its obligations,” Wood said.
“We are being very diligent in making sure that we’re open and transparent about this particular incident, and when we have the results of the water sampling delivered to us we’ll make sure that Albertans know what those results are, in particular those Albertans who are in the immediate area.”
Seetal said the leak was reported to the province about 1 p.m. Monday, but Alberta Environment spokeswoman Jessica Potter said the province learned of the incident at 1:45 p.m.
Potter said the Alberta Environment Support and Emergency Response Team (ASERT) was immediately dispatched to the site and the flow was reduced to a trickle by 2:30 p.m. The leak was fixed by 4 p.m.
The ASERT team handed the file to a regional compliance officer Monday evening. The compliance officer will review the incident and can recommend charges under Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, if he or she determines they are warranted.
Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation expressed concerns about protection of the environment in northern Alberta.
“As chief of a downstream community in the region, this type of incident is of great concern and substantiates my community’s longtime concerns of the negative and adverse impacts this industry has on our ecosystem, traditional lands and cultural rights,” Adam said in a statement.
Jennifer Grant, oilsands director at the Pembina Institute, urged the province and the company to be fully transparent about what happened and the investigation that ensued.
“This is another example of the fact that there is no energy project without risk,” Grant said. “The environmental risks of developing the oilsands needs to be backstopped by rigorous oversight and enforcement.”
Greenpeace Canada spokesman Mike Hudema said Albertans should not have to worry whether their drinking water is safe.
“Many of the chemicals in tar sands operations are known carcinogens and extremely toxic,” Hudema said. “It’s time the government stepped in and stopped these companies from operating until they can prove they can do it without impacting communities or the environment.”
24 hrs after Suncor's tailing pipe burst, spilling toxic chemicals (several of which may be carcinogenic) for FOUR hours onto Alberta's landscape and waterways we still:
1) Don't have pictures of the event;
2) Don't know the chemicals that were released;
3) Don't know how much was released;
4) Don't know how the release was discovered; or
5) How close the release was to the Athabasca river
SUNCOR, Redford - time for some answers!!
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