Desmond Tutu’s visit to Canada’s Tar Sands

KAIROS Canada connects with Archbishop Desmond Tutu over climate change, resource extraction and Indigenous rights

Jennifer Henry, KAIROS’ Executive Director and Ed Bianchi, Program Manager, were thrilled to meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Fort McMurray at the As Long As the Rivers Flow: Coming Back to the Treaty Relationship in Our Time conference, May 31-June 1, 2014. Archbishop Tutu says climate change is a moral struggle and that we must all consider how Alberta’s tar sands impact the climate, Indigenous rights, and the global community – a position echoed by KAIROS.

The conference explored how treaties protect the environment, shape resource development, and address the promise of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. Following the conference, Jennifer and Ed visited Fort Chipewyan to follow up on a delegation to the tar sands organized by KAIROS in 2009 that was comprised of leaders from Canadian churches and church organizations, as well as Indigenous representatives from British Columbia, Ecuador and Nigeria.

Jennifer and Ed’s Blogs

We are all connected, by Jennifer Henry
His was a clarion call: we need to move away from fossil fuels dependence towards cleaner and safer energies that protect the people and the planet. Read more.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu: A Voice To be Heard, by Jennifer Henry
I worked as a Christian Education worker in an Anglican church in Winnipeg in the late 80’s.  Like others in the churches, we were actively involved in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.  Read more.

It’s time to decarbonise, by Ed Bianchi
Winona LaDuke wants to change the terms of the discussion. She says we are in a spiritual moment, and we have a choice to make. Do we want to live for another 500 – 1000 years, or another 50? Read more. This blog also appears in Rabble.ca – Changing the discussion on the high carbon economy.

We do have choices, by Jennifer Henry
There was rain in the morning, but when it came time to fly to Fort Chipewyan the sky was beautifully clear. It was a chance for me to see directly something of what was highlighted at the last two days during the So Long as the Rivers Flow Conference. Read more.

Fort Chipewyan: Time for Treaty Renewal, by Ed Bianchi
In so many ways, Fort Chipewyan’s story mirrors that of Canada. Its rich history includes Indigenous peoples, explorers, fur traders, disease, corporations, governments, treaties, residential schools, and the church. Read more.

For more on KAIROS’ visit to Fort McMurray, click here.

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