Kent County chapter activist Denise Melanson (left) at a recently screening of ‘This Changes Everything’, alongside Serena Francis and chapter activist Debbie Hopper.
The Council of Canadians Kent County chapter remains committed to fighting against fracking in New Brunswick.
CBC reports, “People involved in the Kent County anti-fracking protests of 2013 were watching the announcement of Friday’s shale gas report closely.” That report by a government-appointed commission on fracking neither endorsed nor rejected the current provincial moratorium, but did highlight several conditions – not presently in place – that would have to be met to allow fracking.
Yesterday, Council of Canadians Kent County chapter activist Denise Melanson commented, “Based on the Commission’s report, the government of New Brunswick must commit to a legislated moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the province. All five conditions, including social licence, have not been met and will require a lot of work. To give the people of this province some peace of mind and some security, the government should close the book on this industry.”
The CBC article highlights, “Amanda Polchies [the woman in the iconic photo holding the feather against a row of police officers at Elsipogtog] feels what is in the report doesn’t matter, it’s what the government does with it. …’Never, never, I would never be okay with [fracking]’, she said. [Council of Canadians Kent County chapter activist] Ann Pohl agrees. She says opposition was so strong, it brought communities in the region together, and that bond between those communities is still strong.” She says communities are ready to resist again if necessary. “‘Are you kidding, are you kidding are we up to do it again?’ asked Pohl. ‘We’ve been walking the whole time for the last two years staying fit, it’s all we have.'”
Pohl was also a signatory to our Nov. 20, 2015 written submission to the Commission. In that document we stated, “The Council of Canadians, our supporters and chapter members oppose fracking because of its immense water use, its high carbon emissions, its impacts on human health and the environment, the few jobs it creates while also threatening our tourism industry and the danger it poses to groundwater and local drinking water. We are calling for a country-wide halt on fracking operations, including here in New Brunswick, and will continue to work with people in communities to achieve this.”
Representatives from the Kent County and Fredericton chapters were at the public release of the Commission’s report yesterday in Fredericton.
Further reading
Fredericton chapter says there is “no social licence” for fracking in New Brunswick (Feb. 26, 2016)
