Mother Earth accord opposing keystone xl pipeline delivered to secretary of state clinton

October 6^th, 2011 Washington, D.C.

Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus and other First Nations representatives have delivered the Mother Earth Accord to the office of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Mother Earth Accord calls on President Obama and Secretary Clinton to reject the Presidential Permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, and for a moratorium on tar sands development. The Accord was drafted by First Nations, Tribal leaders, and property owners who would be affected by the Keystone XL pipeline, and lists their concerns about the proposed development.

“Our meeting with Hillary Clinton’s Assistant Secretary was productive,” said Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus. “But we won’t stop here. We will continue to oppose this pipeline, and Canada’s devastating tar sands projects.”

Along with the Accord, 60 pages of supporting documents were also delivered to Secretary Clinton, including letters endorsing the Accord from First Nations, federal political parties, non-government organizations and individuals.

Erasmus and the delegation also met with staff from the offices of several Senators who oppose the pipeline. The delegation will make a presentation at the final Keystone XL hearing tomorrow, and will present the Mother Earth Accord and supporting documents.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would transport 1 million barrels of synthetic crude oil each day from Alberta’s tar sands to US refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. Construction of the 2,700 km pipeline would facilitate a massive expansion of Alberta’s tar sands, along with increased pollution, stress on water resources, and greenhouse gas emissions. Dene communities are downstream from the tar sands, and are threatened by the impacts of upstream water usage and pollution, and the impacts of climate change and global warming.

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For more information please contact: Barret Lenoir or Daniel T’seleie, at the Dene National Office (867) 873-4081.