The Takehome Lesson From Neil Young: Read the Jackpine Mine Decision For Yourself

See on Scoop.it – Politics and Business

This is a guest post by energy economist Andrew Leach.

Dave Cottrell‘s insight:

I’m not against resource extraction, including bitumen, per se.  I am against breaking treaties and I am against doing irrepairable damage to the environment.  It’s refreshing to read an article on this subject that makes the issues of bitumen extraction in this sensitive area very clear.  It is sad that the Canadian media is not taking the time to actually visit the area with cameras to interview the people who live there (and have always lived there) and to show the rest of Canada WHY this is going to court.  Treaties, whether you like them or not, are LEGAL documents that can’t simply be trampled on in the name of so-called "public interest."  Where there are NO treaties, because the land claims have never been settled, it is a travesty for any development to be done with federal and provincial blessings without first consulting AND GETTING PERMISSION from First Nations people.  No matter what some uneducated and opinionated folks may think about this, taking land away from those who own it without a signed agreement in place is theft.  Our federal politicians, especially, need to be aware that in this modern, global economy, they are risking being hauled before international courts if they don’t deal with this correctly.

See on www.desmog.ca