Hollywood director tours oil sands, cautions development

First Nations leaders from Northern Alberta have been sounding alarm bells for nearly four years about the rapid development of the tar sands, but attention from Hollywood may finally elicit a response.
Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron did a three-day tour on Sept. 27-29 of the oil development. He also met with First Nations leaders, industry officials, and Premier Ed Stelmach.

In front of hordes of reporters, Cameron stated his conclusion — development needs to slow down.

“It will be a curse if it is not managed properly but it can also be a great gift it is managed properly,” said Cameron, who created the two major box office hits Titanic and Avatar.

Alberta has the world’s second largest oil reserve in the world, so it’s no surprise everyone is stampeding towards it, Cameron said. But he warned industry and government need to be cautious of its environmental impact.

“What is critical here is for everyone to really take a look at what the fallout from all this is, and what it could be,” he said. “This is only the beginning and imagine what this will look like if we keep going forward at this pace.”
Cameron said the public needs to push for more information.

“We need transparency, we need scrutiny, and we need stronger provincial and federal government regulation,” said Cameron.

Cameron also emphasized the importance of consulting First Nations communities and leaders “from the get go (and) not some token involvement but real involvement in the forward planning.”

Cameron said, “The people in Fort Chipewyan are afraid to drink their own water, they won’t eat the fish, and they won’t let their kids swim in the river.”

Communities near the tar sands have tried highlighting an unusual spike in rates of cancer and lupus, which they say is from air and water contamination from the oil sands.

Former Chief of the Mikisew Cree Nation George Poitras spoke at the press conference alongside Cameron. His community of 1,200 people is located 250 km south of the oil sands.

“This is a curse primarily because of the proven signs. Little is being done to address these problems by authorities,” said Poitras. “In the Third World it may be accepted but this is occurring in Canada, a country that prides itself in addressing human rights.”

Poitras invited Cameron to view the oil-sands after they met at a United Nations gathering.

Allan Adams, Chief of the Athabasca Chipewyn First Nation who has been fighting the pace of the tar sands development, said it’s important for people such as Cameron to see the impact of the oil-sands first-hand.
“The thing that strikes you the most is the deforestation in the boreal forest. You see all these wetlands that have been replaced by these big mines and you see tailing ponds and you ask yourself, ‘Is this really what is going to be here for the future?’”

Days following Cameron’s visit, the federal government announced it would address concerns over contaminants in the Athabasca River. Environment Minister Jim Prentice said he would be appointing an advisory panel to the oil sands.