The Lethbridge chapter is opposing an oil drilling project in west Lethbridge by Calgary-based Goldenkey Oil Inc. that could start early next year. The potential drilling site is reportedly upstream of the city’s water treatment plant and upwind of several west-side neighbourhoods.
Goldenkey will hold a ‘community consultation’ on Thursday, December 5, from 4-8 pm at Lethbridge Lodge. The day prior to this – Wednesday December 4, starting at 5 pm – the group ‘No Drilling in the City of Lethbridge’ will be holding a community engagement meeting at City Hall.
In mid-October, the Council of Canadians and Kainai Lethbridge Earth Watch organized a rally opposed to oil drilling and fracking within city limits. And the year before – on November 13, 2012 – City council unanimously passed a non-binding resolution against any new oil and gas development within municipal boundaries, but there’s more that needs to be done says Council of Canadians activist Sheila Rogers. Licences to drill in Alberta, even within cities, are granted by a single provincial regulatory board, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), which is funded by the oil and gas industry.
In May, the Council of Canadians joined with more than 30 landowner, labour, environmental and First Nation groups to call on Alberta Premier Alison Redford to remove Gerry Protti, founding President of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and former Encana executive, as the chair of the AER board. This regulatory body also issues water permits and is responsible for the enforcement of environmental laws.
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Council calls for Alberta’s new energy regulator to step down
