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House Hansard - 181

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 20, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 181 - Apr/20/23
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Apr/20/23 1:58:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have known, since 2006, that toxic effluents around the oil sands cause an increased cancer rate in indigenous peoples. We have known for two decades that toxic contaminants within the oil sands are reaching the Athabasca River. We have known these things, and for 10 months this year, Imperial Oil knew that their tailings ponds were leaking, yet they failed to tell or warn the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Mikisew Cree First Nation, the Dene peoples or the Métis downstream. These things we know. However, these things are not exactly leaks. We need to understand that the 225 square kilometres that represent the oil sands, the tailing ponds, do not contain waste. It is not that they leak; it is that they do not work. When will someone go to jail for criminal negligence in taking the lives of indigenous peoples?
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