The Co-operative Bank will announce today that it is to fund a legal challenge by the Beaver Lake Cree Nation, which claims the boom in tar sands extraction is destroying their hunting and fishing lands.

The court challenge calls for an injunction to stop more than 16,000 permits issued by the Alberta state government and, if successful, could dramatically reduce or even stop what has been described as a modern day "gold rush" for the oil, spurred by the expectation of high long-term oil prices.

Last year the International Energy Agency estimated that the amount of oil in tar sands and other "unconventional" sources, especially in Canada and Venezuela, was 1-2tn barrels, only slightly less than the remaining conventional oil sources. Companies involved include Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Total.

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The landscape resulting from the tar sands is disgusting. What is happening to the wildlife and the first nations people and their way of life is disgusting. And, it must be stopped!

Well as an albertan! I stand for my country and province! This reads differently then it actually IS!! We do our best here and the smear the US government put on us because we will NOT let them have all our oil, is disgusting! They want it all, and we will NOT let them have it all! they are just plain greedy and grabbers!

I'm a Canadian too shaor, but you have to admit that is not a pretty picture in the clip. As Canadians we should work together to keep what is ours without destroying our country in the process.