KAIROS interview with CBC

Check out the CBC interview with Sarah Stratton from Kairos about the church leaders visit to the tar sands.
http://www.cbc.ca/homestretch/

The oil sands is not a place you would expect to see god in the spotlight. But next month a group of Alberta church leaders will be there. They are going on an "oilsands" discovery trip in Fort McMurray. Sarah Stratton is the campaign co-ordinator with KAIROS, the group overseeing the trip

KAIROS Church Leaders' Delegation to Alberta Tar Sands: May 21-27 2009

FROM KAIROS CANADA

KAIROS Church Leaders’ Delegation to Alberta Tar Sands

May 21-27 2009

 

On May 21, a group of seventeen Canadian church leaders, Southern partners, Indigenous leaders from Canada and KAIROS staff will head to Northern Alberta to learn more about Canada's tar sands.

As part of its ongoing work on energy justice, KAIROS is coordinating a delegation of Canadian church leaders and Indigenous and Southern partners to the site of Canada’s largest industrial development, the Alberta tar sands.  

 

The delegation will:

·         explore the theological, ethical and social implications of fossil fuel extraction;

·         hear about the experiences of and engage in dialogue with local churches, church leaders, members of the KAIROS network, southern partners, and Indigenous people on justice issues related to the tar sands;

·         provide new opportunities for the church  to bear witness to government policies in the areas of energy and climate change, environment and Indigenous rights.

 

The delegation includes church leaders from across Canada, including Alberta and Saskatchewan.  They are:

·         The Rev. Bruce Adema, Director of Canadian Ministries, Christian Reformed Church in North America

·         Dana Bush, Calgary Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

·         Abe Janzen, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Alberta

·         The Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

·         Sr. Anne Lewans, osu,  Vice-President, Canadian Religious Conference

·         The Right Rev Thomas O. Morgan, Retired Archbishop of Saskatoon, Anglican Church of Canada.

·         The Rev. Cheol Soon Park, Moderator of the 134^th General Assembly, The Presbyterian Church in Canada

·         Donald Peters, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Canada

·         The Very Rev. Bill Phipps, Former Moderator of the United Church of Canada

·         The Most Rev. V. James Weisgerber, Archbishop of Winnipeg, President, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

 

Also participating are representatives from two Indigenous communities in Canada that are impacted by fossil fuel extraction:

·         Ray Jones is Hereditary Chief of the Gitxsan First Nation in British Columbia, and has been involved with his community's response to a coal-bed methane project on a part of Gitxsan territory in northern B.C.

·         Terri Brown is the former President of the Native Women's Association of Canada and a member of the Tahltan First Nation in B.C. She is currently an advisor to the Dene Nation. 

 

Two Southern partners can both speak to the impacts of oil exploration on their Indigenous communities:

·         Fabricio Guamán works with Accion Ecologica and Oil Watch International in Ecuador.

·         Michael Keania Karikpo works with Oil Watch International in Nigeria.

 

The delegation is rounded out by KAIROS staff:

·         Mary Corkery, Executive Director

·         Ed Bianchi, Indigenous Rights Program Coordinator

·         Sara Stratton, Education/Campiagns Coordinator (Sustainability)

 

The delegation comes to Alberta knowing that things have changed considerably in the region over the last six months, and seeking to learn more about the tar sands projects and their impacts on all involved communities – society at large, workers, Indigenous peoples and communities, and the earth community.

 

It will be a time of listening and dialogue, of reflection and action, both pastoral and prophetic. We will also be in conversation with workers, industry representatives, community workers and elected officials. It is one more step in our ongoing conversation about energy issues, globally and in Canada.  

 

The tar sands are raising many questions for Canadians across the country and for Albertans in particular.  They play a huge role in Canada's economy, in the varied communities of this region, in the Boreal forest and in the global climate. What are their impacts, positive and negative? How should they be developed?

 

These are big questions, questions that every Canadian Christian should take to heart. Join us on our journey. Follow along on our delegation blog at http://www.kairoscanada.blogspot.com/ .  A different member of the delegation will be blogging each day. See also our delegation page and full delegate bios at http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/get-involved/campaign/tar-sands-delegation/

 

Background reading:

 

KAIROS framework paper (large file, PDF format):

Re-Energizing the Future: Faith and Justice in a Post-Petroleum World.

 

KAIROS discussion paper (PDF format):

Christian Faith and the Canadian Tar Sands

 

 

Water Hearing Action Alert

ACTION ALERT!

Share your voice let the Feds know Oil and Water don’t mix!

This May the Federal government standing committee on the environment and sustainable development has launched an inquiry into Tar Sands extraction and its effects on the watershed and water quality of Athabasca/McKenzie river.  They will be hearing testimony from Industry, Scientific Experts, First Nations Leadership, and NGOs in a series of hearings throughout Ontario and Alberta so to prepare a statement for the Federal government on how they can improve protection and regulation of one of our most precious resources in the face of one of the largest industrial projects.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD TOO!

How are you impacted by the tar sands extraction? What changes have you seen with water in your area? What do you foresee for Alberta's future concerning water and the tars sands extraction? Do you see contamination from Tar sands extraction in your area/region?

Make your voice heard now by writing a letter to the committee. Tell the government that Tar Sands and Water don’t mix!

TO SEND IN A SUBMISSION:
E-mail a submission of concern about Tar Sands extraction and water use to ALL the addresses below.

Please submit your brief to the following:
To: Chair of the Committee: Jim Bezan – Ottawa@jamesbezan.com
CC: Clerk of the Committee: Normand Radford - RadfoN@parl.gc.ca, MP Francis Scarpaleggia - scarpf@parl.gc.ca, MP Linda Duncan - Duncan.L@parl.gc.ca

And PLEASE cc us at nowaterforoil@gmail.com 

Your submission can be anything from one page to 10 pages. You can make recommendations to the committee to take action,  and include any background information that you may feel would be useful for their understanding on the issue.

For more information on guidelines for submissions you can see: http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/house/WitnessesGuides/guide-brief-E.htm

Issues:
Water should be a human right. It is essential for human life and all life on this planet. It is a vital public health need. And each member of the human community should have the right to accessible, affordable water in quantity and quality sufficient to life and basic economic activities.

Water contamination and extraction from tar sands production is something that affects all of us! Water is a precious resource, and we cannot afford to have big industry consume and contaminate it irreparably.

Tar sands projects are a leading threat to Canada’s water quality. It is estimated that two - five barrels of water are required to produce each barrel of oil extracted from the sands. At least 90 percent of the fresh water used in oil sand extraction winds up in huge toxic tailing lakes. These toxic lakes are the second largest man-made structure, second only to the reservoir of the 3 Gorges Dam. This toxic legacy already spans more than 130 square kilometers of our province and are growing every single day. The tar sands not only devastate water quality, but also risks the health and well being of downstream communities. Already, communities have experienced increased cancer rates and health problems, water reductions in rivers and aquifers, declines in wildlife populations such as moose and muskrat, and significant declines in fish populations.

Although downstream communities bare the brunt of the water contamination with increased health problems and devastation to their environment, the water use affects us all.  As production grows and climate change continues to parch many of our lands, more and more water will be needed to keep our economies going. This water will ultimately be diverted from rivers, lakes, farms and cities throughout Canada, unless we take action now to ensure industries are well regulated and restricted on their rights to water use. Toxic Industries like Tar Sands have to go! 

For more information on Tar Sands and water concerns please see:

www.oilsandstruth.org                                                               

http://www.tarsandswatch.org/

 

Social Justice Leadership Training

Please post and circulate

Organizing Calgary

Social Justice Leadership Training

 

Wednesday May 13th 5:30 P.M.- 9:00 P.M.

Thursday May 14th 5:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.

Location: Temple B’nai Tikvah- 900- 47th Avenue SW, Calgary

 

HOW TO BUILD A BROAD BASE CITIZENS ORGANIZING PROJECT

This leadership institute will provide training on how to:

- Develop new relationships inside and outside our institutions

- Find and develop new leaders for our institutions

- Identify common issues and take action that impacts

- Build a diverse, multi issue organization committed to social justice and

the common good

 

There is no cost. Attendance on both days is preferred. Dinner will be provided.

For more information on broad base organizing in Alberta, please see

www.greateredmontonalliance.com or www.justicealliancefund.org

 

Registration:

Name:_____________________________________ Institution:___________________________

Phone:_________________________________

Email:___________________________

City Ward:______________

Dietary Limitations, please specify:

 

 

Please email registration to Michael@greateredmontonalliance.com or fax 780-485-2702