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Jim Cuddy joins Neil Young in criticizing oilsands development

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In Environment
Jan 17th, 2014
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Blue Rodeo singer issues a statement of solidarity with Young’s calls for responsible oilsands development on the “Honor the Treaties” tour

By: Ben Rayner Toronto Star

Jim Cuddy has joined Neil Young in calling for a curb on the rapid development of the Alberta oilsands.

The Blue Rodeo singer issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying he agrees with the concerns currently being voiced by Young in his cross-Canada “Honor the Treaties” tour over the environmental and health impacts of the sprawling oilsands industry.

“I believe that Neil Young is brave and articulate and very well informed about the oilsands,” said Cuddy. “Right now, Canada is at a crossroads between economics and the environment and we need to make a very, very brave choice. How much revenue are we willing to sacrifice to ensure that we have clean water, clean air and good health for the people and the planet?”Cuddy was clarifying remarks made to the Huffington Post in which he took issue with Young’s comparisons of the area around Fort McMurray to Hiroshima and appeared to label Young “crazy.”

Young has been relentless in his criticism of the petrochemical industry for expanding its oilsands operations in northern Alberta at a rapid pace without thought to future consequences. He has sided with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in their legal fight to stop such projects as Shell Oil’s Jackpine mine until they are consulted — as per the treaty rights granted them by the Crown years ago — on how their ancestral lands and waterways can be responsibly developed.

During a press conference at Massey Hall before the first date of the Honor the Treaties tour last Sunday, Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam — who lives downstream from the oilsands in Fort Chipewyan — shared horrific stories of dwindling wildlife, contaminated fish stocks and skyrocketing cancer rates and pleaded for some thought to be given as to how the oilsands can be exploited without selling out future generations.

Young singled out the Harper Conservatives for their role in green-lighting so many contentious projects, calling them “a government out of control” and accused them of “trading integrity for money.”

The Prime Minister’s Office, federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall have since publicly bristled at Young’s criticisms, while the CEOs of two major energy companies — Cenovus Energy’s Brian Ferguson and TransCanada’s Russ Girling — have shot back at Young with fighting words of their own. Girling accused him of basing his claims in “fantasy and not reality.”

All have taken exception to Young’s comparison of the landscape around Fort McMurray to postnuclear Hiroshima, but Cuddy said on Friday he agrees with the elder rocker that “the oilsands are as visually grotesque as described.”

“Fort McMurray, on the other hand, is a thriving town whose people are directly affected by the issue of the expansion of the oilsands,” said Cuddy.

“This is not a trivial issue and it is not a time for the media to do anything but provide clarity. This is an issue that is vital to all of our best interests. It is essential that we have an open dialogue about it and we force our government to listen.”

 

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