The Globe and Mail reports, “Ontario would need to see scientific proof that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is safe before it allows energy companies to use the controversial practice to extract natural gas, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday. (So far) no private companies have approached the province to request permission to frack, which involves the use of chemically-treated water under extreme pressure in drill holes to fracture underground shale and release gas or oil.”
“Opponents of fracking said companies including Mooncor Oil and Gas and Dundee Energy are buying up land in southwestern Ontario, especially the Kettle Point area on Lake Huron, that could be used for fracking. …The Council of Canadians opposes fracking, and wants Ontario to follow Quebec’s lead and impose a moratorium on the practice. It warns fracking in Ontario could have serious long-term and cumulative impacts on the Great Lakes.”
Earlier this November, the Council of Canadians received local media coverage for its call for a ban on fracking in Ontario, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=17909.
In a mid-November campaign blog we noted – A Calgary-based company incorporated in Delaware intends to sue Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement for Quebec’s moratorium on fracking. The Toronto Star reports, “The Canadian government faces a $250-million suit from a U.S. energy producer over Quebec’s environmental stance, raising new questions about the wisdom of investor rights treaties Ottawa is planning with China and the European Union.” More on this at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=17955.
For more on our national campaign against fracking, please see http://canadians.org/fracking.
