FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – Actor and longtime environmental activist Jane Fonda says Canada should listen to aboriginal people when they express concerns about resource development.
Fonda is in the oilsands hub of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta Tuesday to meet with local First Nations.
READ MORE: Pipelines vs. the environment: weighing greenhouse gas emissions against the economy
She says she backs their opposition to new pipeline development from the oilsands.
READ MORE: Jane Fonda coming to Alberta to express opposition of oilsands projects
Fonda says she sympathizes with workers who are concerned about losing their jobs and supports the desire of some First Nations for greater prosperity.
But she says renewable energy developments offer much greater economic spinoffs than what she calls a fossil fuel industry on its way out.
READ MORE: Trans Mountain approval prompts anger in B.C.
Fonda is the latest in a long string of prominent people who have visited the oilsands, including musician Neil Young, Hollywood director James Cameron and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Greenpeace Canada will be holding an event Wednesday at the University of Alberta where Fonda will be among several speakers. They are expected to detail why they oppose the federal government’s approval of the Line 3 and Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion, as well as the possible approvals of the KeystoneXL and Energy East projects.
Greenpeace said the projects are in conflict with Canada’s commitments to Indigenous Rights, the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Paris climate accord.
In 1970, Fonda was arrested while marching with indigenous people during the occupation of For Lawton in Seattle, Wash.
Greenpeace said First Nations leaders will join the Academy Award winner during Wednesday’s event.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article previously stated Fonda would appear on Global News Morning Edmonton for an interview on Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, Fonda’s spokesperson told Global News all interviews ahead of a scheduled press conference were being cancelled because it was unclear when the actor would be able to leave Fort McMurray.
With files from Slav Kornik, Global News
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