Hey Canada:  Stop the expansion of the Alberta Tar Sands

Open Letter to the World:
We are taught that in families, and Canada has been my 'family' since I chose to come here in 1968, we watch each other's back and form a closed circle to outsiders. But sometimes that closed circle hides abuse. And then, someone has to go outside to seek help. Our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has been an abusive 'father' in our Canadian 'family.' Before he came, Canada was respected on the world stage, was in the forefront of peacekeeping, set positive goals for climate protection, supported ordinary Canadians against the ravages of Multinational corporations, provided generous help to the poorest among us and protected our environment. Now, we read almost every day that Canada is at the top of this international 'bad actor' list or at the bottom of that international 'world citizen' list. Our prisons are fuller, our schools are emptier, inequality is on the rise, our First Nations are dealt with dishonourably, our climate goals have been abandoned, our personal safety and shared environment are sold away to the highest bidder.
Under these circumstances, we must come to the rest of the world for help. That highest bidder is the oil and gas industry. At their behest, our Prime Minister muzzles our scientists, legislatively un-protects thousands of our lakes and rivers, eases environmental oversight, changes the rules on foreign ownership, negotiates trade treaties without any national or parliamentary discussion and rides roughshod over our cherished rights and freedoms.
If, by some chance, you think these are merely Canadian problems that we should solve ourselves, I have something else to tell you. The big, shiny goal of the oil and gas behemoths is the Alberta Tar Sands. And reputable, frightened but still hopeful, scientists have warned that exploiting the tar sands, bringing that oil out from under that soil, will so increase greenhouse gases that the whole world's climate will reach a tipping point beyond which the results are not entirely known, but will certainly be disastrous. This is the climate in all our backyards, not just my Canadian one. My Government is going ahead with decisions that will have international consequences. Already the tar sands industry has despoiled thousands of acres of bush and muskeg and poisoned the rivers that run through Native reserves along the Athabasca watershed. Dilbit oil from the Tar Sands, pushed through aging pipelines, has ravaged miles of the Kalamazoo River in Michigan and overrun a neighbourhood in Mayflower, Arkansas. The Canadian government has shown that it will not listen to Canadians. Perhaps it will listen to the World. Perhaps it will listen to you. Please sign and share this petition.
Ursula Stange,Concerned Canadian