"'We're not going to sit back and allow this to happen,' says Smith's Landing First Nation chief"
"Northerners say the federal government's plan to regulate the release of treated oilsands tailings water will be met with opposition by communities downstream.
As the N.W.T. Environment minister gears up for a diplomatic approach with Alberta and Canada, Dene leaders like Smith's Landing First Nation Chief Gerry Cheezie are prepared to take legal action with Dene Nation, and to bring their opposition to the release of tailings water all the way to Ottawa.
'It's unthinkable. It's a human rights issue … along with being environmental racism,' said Cheezie, who argues that releasing water from tailings, the byproduct of the extraction process used to remove the oil from the sand and clay, violates treaty rights to access lands and waters.
'I can't believe the Government of Canada is willing to release this toxic sludge on our river and on our people,' he said. 'We're not going to sit back and allow this to happen.'"
