The Council of Canadians is celebrating the report released today by Nova Scotia’s independent review panel recommending that the province maintain its fracking moratorium. Fracking is a hot button issue in Atlantic Canada and will be an election issue in the upcoming New Brunswick election.
“Nova Scotia is showing leadership when it comes to protecting water from fracking,” says Emma Lui, water campaigner for the Council of Canadians. “We urge the province to implement the panel’s recommendations.”
The report insists that the government commission independent researchers to measure health, environment and economic impacts. It recommends the province develop a test for “community permission.”
“Residents showed up to the public town hall meetings in huge numbers to show their opposition to fracking. It’s great that the panel listened to communities,” says Angela Giles, Atlantic regional organizer with the Council of Canadians. “However, there is one caveat: without an outright ban on fracking, the province’s water is still in jeopardy.”
The Council of Canadian Academies released a report in May cautioning that governments do not know enough about fracking safety and potential problems such as well leaks, chemical effects and long-term impacts. Many communities have been warning that fracking endangers water sources and public health, and is a factor in climate change.
With millions of litres of fracking wastewater that it is unable to safely dispose of, Nova Scotia has firsthand experience with the difficulties of disposing of wastewater from fracking.
The Atlantic provinces are a hotbed of fracking activity. Community opposition continues to grow in Prince Edward Island as well as in Newfoundland Labrador where the province is preparing to conduct its own independent review.
“We hope the federal government and other provinces draw lessons from Nova Scotia’s review and implement a ban on fracking,” concludes Giles.
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