Sarah Harmer is one of 20 Canadian celebrities banding together to put pressure on Premier Dalton McGuinty to release seven jailed aboriginal leaders.

The group, which also includes former UN Ambassador Stephen Lewis and author Margaret Atwood, also seek to “stop controversial mineral exploration across the province,” reports the CBC.

The group have written a letter, being sent today, which defends the aboriginals’ right to protest the drilling of their native territory. The aboriginals were arrested for ignoring the injunction that allowed Platinex to drill on their land.

The letter states, “We support the right of a community to say ‘no’ to mineral exploration and mining projects that threaten the health of people and ecosystems in Ontario. These are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandfathers and grandmothers.”

They note that one of the women will spend her 60th birthday in jail.

The group also demand that drilling permits only be given when environmental assessments and consultations with aboriginal groups are completed.

McGuinty has previously said that he can do nothing to interfere in the court process of the seven aboriginal prisoners.

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A bevy of musicians, including a few big Canadian names, are throwing their support behind Lake Ontario Waterkeeper.

The grassroots environmental charity released “At The Barricades: Volume 1” last week, the first of three planned benefit albums featuring artists assembled by Canadian musician and producer Chris Brown. Among those contributing new and exclusive tracks to the compilation are Stars, Sarah Harmer, Broken Social Scene and the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie.

Volume 2 and Volume 3 will be released in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

“‘At The Barricades’ reflects the efforts of musicians committed to the fight for clean air and water,” said Brown.

To celebrate the release of Volume 1, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper will hold two shows in Ontario this week. Toronto’s Dakota Tavern will host the first one on Thursday, featuring performances from Citizen’s Band, Tony Scherr, drummer Anton Fier and other artists who appear on the compilation album.

On Friday, the artists will perform at the General Wolfe Hotel on Wolfe Island near Kingston, Ont. The show will be accompanied by a live taping of Waterkeeper’s weekly radio show and podcast, “Living At the Barricades.”

Created in 2001, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is one of 160 chapters of the Waterkeeper Alliance. The group aims to take back the public’s right to safely swim, drink and fish in local waterways.

Here is the tracklisting for “At The Barricades: Volume 1”:
Edgar Mitchell — “Introduction”
Broken Social Scene — “Until It’s Dead”
Bruce Cockburn — “Beautiful Creatures”
Boi Brasiliero De Itaquitinga — “Toada De Cavallo Marinho” (Scotty Hard Mix)
Interlude
Chris Brown — “Oblivion”
Sarah Harmer — “Escarpment Blues” (Live)
Interlude
Sex Mob — “I Like It A Whole Lot”
Gordon Downie — “Nothing But Heartache In Your Social Life”
Mads Mouritz (Mouritz/Hoerslev Projektet) — “Paa Et Kontor”
Kate Fenner — “Old Man”
Pete Seeger — “Walking Down Death Row”
Stars — “1st 5 Times” (Remix)
Dave Bidini with The Scribbled Out Man — “The Monct On Hellraisers”
Tony Scherr — “Natural World”
Interlude
Bill Frisell — “Across The Universe”

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