Legendary musician Neil Young is mounting a rally cry against “the ugliest environmental disaster” that he has ever seen or “could even comprehend,” according to CBC News. In an exclusive interview with CBC’s Jian Ghomeshi, Young offers an unfiltered condemnation of the Alberta oilsands, brushes off his critics, and stands by his controversial comparison of Fort McMurray to atomically-devastated Hiroshima.
“I always felt that Canada was a different place, where the values were different and where we cherish the natural surroundings that we’re in. But my visit to Alberta changed a lot of that for me,” he told Ghomeshi.
Young’s benefit tour was in aid of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation’s legal challenge against the expansion of the Jackpine Mine from 7,500 hectares to 13,000 hectares.
According to CBC, Shell said it could bring the Alberta and federal governments an estimated $17 billion in royalties and taxes over its life and create an additional 750 full time jobs.
But Indigenous and environmental groups say the predicted damage to water, land and animals outweighs any profits the addition to the oil sands will yield, according to CBC.
Check out the CBC News story Jackpine Mine will destroy wetlands and wildlife, First Nations say.
Watch the Neil Young interview:
First Nation chief Allan Adam on oilsands fight – CBC
