Mikisew Cree First Nation live downstream of the Alberta Tar Sands. The tar sands are a contentious topic for many reasons. There are many reasons for concern regarding further development of the tar sands for oil. However, there it has also been estimated that the tar sands hold the largest reserve of oil in the world paralleling that found in the Middle East region. Therefore, there are many companies eager to further tap into the natural resource.

The tar sands have become an attractive investment for two primary reasons. The first is that all of the oil reserves in the world that are easily accessible have already been utilized. All of the remaining oil on the planet is much harder to get to which has driven the price of oil much higher than it had been formerly. At the new market prices, the oil found in the tar sands has...
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