Margaret Wente’s argument for ‘more fracking and faster’ represents a dangerously narrow approach to economic development and addressing Canada’s energy needs. In addition to price and availability, we need to carefully assess the risks of fracking including the potential for water contamination, high lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, links between earthquakes and injection of fracking wastewater into the ground, the lack of regulations legally requiring public disclosure of chemicals and the lack of information on the cumulative impacts of fracking on public health and our environment.
Federal, Quebec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia governments have begun reviews on fracking precisely because they don’t know enough about it. 62% of Canadians support a moratorium on all fracking for natural gas until all federal environmental reviews are complete.
Considering risks and community opposition, we need a ban on fracking or at the very least a moratorium.
