Desmond Tutu blasts oil sands in Fort McMurray; PC candidates respond
Posted May 31, 2014 3:28 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
South African Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu continued his criticism on the Alberta oil sands industry Saturday, in the oil sands capital of Fort McMurray.
The hero of South Africa’s apartheid resistance blasted the industry and called on all leaders to change.
“The fact that this filth is being created now when the link between carbon emissions and global warming is so obvious reflects negligence and greed,” he said, adding he has witnessed the vulnerability of the community’s most affected by climate change.
“The urgency of our responsibility to take action has never been clearer, every day hundreds of millions of lives and livelihoods are affected by global warming,” he said.
He was brought to the oil sands capital by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and a Toronto law firm specializing in aboriginal law.
Tutu’s remarks ended with the crowd on its feet while he chanted, “we are connected.”
His comments didn’t sit well with some of the PC party leadership candidates, speaking at a forum in Calgary.
Ric McIver called Tutu a celebrity and questioned his credibility.
“I think when a parade of celebrities comes through here and trashes our main industry, I think it’s incumbent upon them to educate themselves about what’s really going on,” McIver said. “I think you need to look at the context of the latest celebrity to come through and say has that person done their homework?”
Thomas Lukaszuk said these were the words of one man and world leaders should know more about the industry.
“I would be thrilled to take Desmond Tutu to northern Alberta and walk him through the sites of the industry as I have other governors and senators and congressmen and leaders from the European Union and other countries,” he said. “Allowing them to ask any questions they want and giving them fact-based answers up to now, without any exception, has if not changed the mind of those who have been historically critical, has definitely neutralized their opinions.”
