Avatar director to help fund oilsands fight

Film director James Cameron has promised to help people in Fort Chipewyan fund possible litigation against the government over oilsands development in northern Alberta, according to the local chief.

"He didn't express the fact that how much he would be able to contribute, but he did express the fact that he will help in some way," said Allan Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

Cameron met leaders and community members in the northern Alberta community, located downstream of oilsands development, on Tuesday afternoon as part of his fact-finding mission.

Adam said Cameron will either help raise funds or contribute some of his own money. The chief said the litigation could cost $1 million to $2 million.

Cameron didn't speak publicly about his intentions but told Radio-Canada he would "do what it takes" to raise awareness on the issue, adding "it might take more."

"I'm optimistic. Because frankly there's a big imperative for them to get this tarsands oil right," Cameron said.

"We're not saying they have to stop the development, we're not saying they have to take the jobs away, we're just saying they've got to do it right. They've got to do it in a way that's responsible — responsible development, responsible to the environment and responsible to the people directly affected by it."

Cameron arrived in Alberta on Monday night for a personal fact-finding tour. The Canadian-born director of Avatar spent Tuesday morning on a private tour of mining operations at Syncrude, north of Fort McMurray.

He asked oil industry officials questions about their environmental record and plans for reducing carbon emissions during the first full day of his survey of the oilsands.

'A lot of moving pieces'

"Fascinating," Cameron said after a helicopter tour. "It's very complex, a lot of moving pieces, a lot of things I don't think the public understands clearly that I'd love to, as a storyteller, tell or hope to communicate."

Alberta's environment minister, Rob Renner, accompanied Cameron on the tour.

"We spent the majority of our time talking more about where this industry is going, where some of the leading-edge technology will be taking us, and he was really very excited about some of those," Renner told CBC News Network.

On Wednesday, Cameron was scheduled to meet Premier Ed Stelmach at the Alberta legislature at 10:30 a.m. MT.

During a UN forum in New York earlier this year, Cameron called the oilsands a "black eye" on Canada's image as an environmental leader. His comments prompted Stelmach to invite the director to visit Alberta and see the oilsands for himself.