Last Friday was the deadline for public submissions to the New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing, the province’s 3-person panel regarding the future of the fracking industry in the province. Despite feeling fresh of the Newfoundland and Labrador Hydraulic Fracking Review Panel public consultation train, we also made a detailed submission from the Council of Canadians to the NB Commission.
Different than other review panels like the Wheeler review in Nova Scotia and the ongoing Gosine review panel process in Newfoundland and Labrador, the NB Commission is a citizens’ panel (more information including biographies found on their website), appointed by the provincial government to re-examine the conditions for which the current moratorium might be lifted.
The mandate of the Commission as outlined by Liberal Premier Brian Gallant, is to study the issue of hydraulic fracturing in the province to determine whether these five conditions can be met:
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The social license to proceed; -
Clear and credible information about the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on public health, the environment and water, allowing the government to develop a country-leading regulatory regime with sufficient enforcement capabilities; -
A plan in place that mitigates the impacts on public infrastructure and that addresses issues such as waste water disposal; -
A process in place to respect the duty of the provincial government to consult with First Nations; and, -
A mechanism in place to ensure that benefits are maximized for New Brunswickers, including the development of a proper royalty structure.
Many submissions were made by Council of Canadians chapters, supporters and allies, expressing similar concerns to the ones we raised in our submission last Friday, along with raising a few others. In addition you will find a few submissions supporting the industry, including by the Maritime Energy Association, SWN Resources Canada and Atlantica Centre for Energy (glad to see ours is not the only last-day submission!).
Many groups and individuals have also requested a meeting with the Commission, as it is not within their mandate to hold public consultations. Instead, within our submission we requested this be revisited to ensure an open and accessible process to all.
Our four chapters in New Brunswick – Fredericton, Saint John, Moncton, and Kent County – also signed our submission. Many thanks to all who worked to support this effort, and in particular: Ann Pohl (Kent County chapter), Jean-Louis Deveau (Fredericton chapter) and Denise Melanson (Kent County chapter).
The Commission has until March 31st, 2016 to complete its’ work. Perhaps they will recognize our request for public consultations but I am doubtful at this stage. We will however be watching closely and will respond to their report when released, but certainly remain cautiously hopeful based on the submissions seen to date that at the very least social license cannot be met.
