The Lake Ainslie block, in which PetroWorth Resources Inc. has a lease and a permit from the province of Nova Scotia to drill an exploratory well, is found in Inverness County, of beautiful Cape Breton. The NS government did not consult with the Municipality of Inverness County before giving the green light for this oil and gas exploration, which has caused friction and back room meetings between the two levels of government.
In response to months of this back and forth with the province, and the overwhelming opposition to this project by residents, the Inverness County Council unanimously passed a motion yesterday demanding that they be consulted in these types of decisions. The resolution says specifically, “That the Province carry-out an environmental impact study of the Lake Ainslie / Margaree Watershed…” and that in future, it do the same for any other watersheds in advance of a permit being issued.
So Congratulations to you, Inverness County Council!! Clearly, members of the Municipal government in Inverness are listening to the people in their region who do not want this project to go forward; sadly, the NDP provincial government and Premier Darrell Dexter are not.
More work is to be done to ensure this project does not go ahead, including the establishment of a community rights ordinance (as Anne Levesque mentions in the Chronicle Herald piece) which extends the assertion Council has made with this resolution.
