Member Since: 8/13/2012
Posts: 32,832
|
Jane Fonda gets confronted by angry Canadians
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...bble-1.3929813
Quote:
Oscar-winning actress Jane Fonda, who once visited Hanoi to protest the Vietnam War, was back in the spotlight Tuesday, only this time the setting was a snowy parking lot outside a Moxie's restaurant in downtown Fort McMurray.
After a helicopter tour of Alberta's oilsands region, the long-time activist met with Indigenous leaders and environmentalists.
An outspoken critic of the energy industry, Fonda told CBC News that during the flyover she felt a physical reaction while gazing at the massive open-pit bitumen mines that fuel the oilsands industry and pump billions of dollars each year into the Alberta economy.
"It's like someone took my skin and peeled it off my body over a very large surface," Fonda said after she had lunch with members of the Fort McMurray First Nation. "It made my body ache to watch it."
In the parking lot outside the restaurant, Fonda stopped briefly to speak with a CBC videojournalist. But the interview was quickly interrupted by Robbie Picard, founder of a local advocacy group called OilSands Strong.
Armed with an iPhone to record the event, Picard asked the 79-year-old actress and activist if she was aware that First Nations businesses in the region have invested many millions of their own dollars in the oilsands.
But Picard was quickly shut down by people travelling with Fonda, who said they did not have time to address his questions.
Moments later, the Fonda entourage was confronted by another local resident, Susan Plamondon.
"Did you fly over the reclamation area?" Plamondon shouted at Fonda.
The two walked toward each other, and at one point Fonda reached out and gently grasped the other woman's hands.
"Listen, I'm not against you," the actress said.
"Well, I sure hope that your report on Fort McMurray is a pleasant one, and not just bashing us. We are hurting here," Plamondon said.
She reminded the celebrity guest that 2,500 people lost their homes in May 2016, when a massive wildfire forced about 90,000 residents to leave the city and surrounding communities.
"Did you sleep in a hotel?" Plamondon asked.
"Yes, I did," Fonda said. "And I flew in an airplane here. And I understand what you're saying."
Greenpeace Canada is holding an event at the University of Alberta in Edmonton on Wednesday night, where Fonda is scheduled to be one of several speakers.
|
|
|
|