• Fredericton Mayor and City Council demonstrate lack of transparency on Energy East pipeline

    FREDERICTON – A citizens’ group in Fredericton is asking why Mayor Brad Woodside and City Council sent a Letter of Support for the proposed TransCanada Energy East Pipeline Project to the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and kept it secret from the citizens of Fredericton.

    Fredericton’s drinking water would be at risk from an Energy East pipeline spill as identified in the Drinking Water Report released on April 6th. A detailed analysis of the proposed Energy East pipeline route shows that across Canada the project could lead to the contamination of crucial sources of drinking water not identified in TransCanada’s application.

    “Our City Councillors have a duty of care to ask about the risks and impacts of this export tar sands pipeline proposed to cross over or beside our rivers, bays, and drinking water supplies,” says Garry Guild, a member from the Fredericton chapter of the Council of Canadians.

    “We are disappointed to learn that our City Council approved and sent this Letter of Support for this very controversial issue in the absence of an open and transparent debate during a regular Council meeting in which Frederictonians are allowed to attend,” says Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy, a member of the Fredericton chapter of the Council of Canadians. “This is more than just about a pipeline. It’s about public trust and the integrity of our elected officers. Decisions affecting the public being made secretly behind closed doors have no place in 2016.”

    The decision also contradicts the position of the Wolastoq Grand Council which recently announced on February 8th their opposition to the Energy East pipeline. The pipeline would traverse their unceded traditional homeland through the Saint John River watershed, including the headwaters of the Nashwaak River which is north of Fredericton.

    To date, the following one-sentence statement is the only response that members of the local chapter have received from the City Clerk’s Office of the City of Fredericton:

    “The City of Fredericton was approached by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce for a letter of support in relation to Trans Canada’s Energy East Project; and a letter was sent by Mayor Woodside, on behalf of City Council, to the Prime Minister of Canada confirming support.” (City Clerk’s Office, e-mail received April 05, 2016)

    “With impending municipal elections (Monday, May 9th), the citizens of Fredericton need to vote for a Mayor and Councillors who are both accountable and transparent. This is how they gain our trust”, says Joan Green, a member of the Fredericton chapter of the Council of Canadians.The Fredericton chapter of the Council of Canadians has launched a ‘Publicly Take Back The Letter’ campaign asking Fredericton City Council to publicly withdraw the letter before or at their Monday, April 25th meeting @ 7:30pm, the final Regular Meeting of City Council prior to the May 9th municipal election.
  • Pipeline to Saint John

    Have you been wondering if the proposed bitumen pipeline passes by your door? Or perhaps your favourite wild haunts? Here’s a map of the route through New Brunswick to Saint John.

    The Pembina Institute has done an interesting analysis of the climate implications caused by increased tar sands production that would result from the Keystone pipeline. These climate implications would also apply to an eastern pipeline. According to David Coon, Leader of the Green Party, “It looks like the pipeline to the Port of Saint John would support a 27% increase in tar sands production which in upstream emissions alone would be akin to equivalent to those from building 4 coal-fired power plants or putting 4.6 million more cars on the road.”

  • Statement on critical changes to pipeline/energy project assessment

    Conservation Council Logo
    Jan. 27, 2016

    Statement on critical changes to pipeline/energy project assessment

    FREDERICTON — Lois Corbett, Executive Director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, issued this statement following the announcement today from Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr and Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna:

    “We want to congratulate Ministers Carr and McKenna for using both common sense and a comprehensive understanding of the urgency we need to tackle carbon pollution by requiring major oil production projects, like TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline, to undergo a science-based assessment, including First Nations' traditional knowledge, as well as direct and upstream greenhouse gas pollution linked to the project.   

    It was naive and foolhardy not to include greenhouse gas analysis in oil pipeline projects but in its sheer stubborn determination to rush tarsands oil to export markets and damn the climate consequences, the former government did exactly that. One take-away lesson for decision makers everywhere today is that short cuts in environmental assessments are usually anything but.

    We also welcome the Ministers' intention to ensure the public’s right to participate in project reviews. That means the input of people from Edmundston, to the Tobique, all along the St. John River through to communities along our Bay of Fundy must be respected, instead of ignored. We look forward to working with this government in the near future to ensure that the climate analysis and other new requirements are robust.”
    -30-

    For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:

    Jon MacNeill, Communications: 458-8747 | 261-1353 | jon.macneill@conservationcouncil.ca
  • Wolastoq Grand Council Addresses the Energy East Pipeline / Le Grand conseil Wolastoq aborde le project Oléoduc Énergie Est

    Wolastoq Grand Council Addresses the Energy East Pipeline
    Ottawa January 29, 2016

    The Wolastoq Grand Council represents the non-ceded homeland of the Wolastoqewiyik who occupy the homeland and waterways as follows: North - Wolastoq River (aka St.John River which flows from Maine to the Bay of Fundy), South - KenepekRiver (aka Kennebec), East - Supeq (aka Atlantic Ocean), and West – Wahsipekuk(aka St. Lawrence River).

    As members of the Wolastoq Grand Council we unanimously oppose the Energy East Pipeline Project in order to protect our non-ceded homeland and waterways, our traditional and cultural connection to our lands, waterways, and air. The Wolastoq Grand Council has serious concerns for the safety and protection of the animals, fish, birds, insects, plants and tree life that sustains our Wolastoq Nation.

    The Wolastoq Grand Council recognizes and values the statements made by the Federal Government on January 27, 2016 to consult with Indigenous Nations with respect to the project of our Ancestral Homeland. The Wolastoq Grand Council is willing to meet with the Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr and other senior personnel in critical discussions that are consistent with our Peace and Friendship Treaties in a Nation-to-Nation relationship. There is a legal duty of the Crown to address and support our concerns due to the inadequacy of the National Energy Board process.

    The Wolastoq Grand Council will expect from the appropriate Crown delegate and provincial representative, a written acceptance of our traditional philosophy, and our rejection of the Energy East tar sands pipeline as soon as possible.

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    Ottawa, le 29 janvier 2016

    Le Grand conseil de la communauté Wolastoq représente la patrie non cédée des Wolastoqewiyik. Ces derniers occupent les terres et les cours d’eau suivant : Nord – Wolastoq River (maintenant connu sous le nom de fleuve Saint-Jean et qui coule de l’état du Maine à la Baie de Fundy), Sud – Kenepek River (aussi connu sous le nom de la Kennebec), Est – Supeq (également appelé l’Océan Atlantique) et Ouest – Wahsipekuk (appelé également le fleuve Saint-Laurent).


    En tant que membres du Grand conseil Wolastoq, nous sommes unanimement contre le projet de l’Oléoduc Énergie Est afin de protéger notre patrie non cédée et nos cours d’eau, nos rapports traditionnels et culturels avec nos terres, nos cours d’eau et nos espaces aériens. Le Grand conseil Wolastoq entretient de vives inquiétudes à l’égard de la santé et la sécurité des animaux, des poissons, des oiseaux, des insectes, des plantes et de la vie des arbres qui soutiennent notre peuple Wolastoq. 


    Le Grand conseil Wolastoq reconnait et valorise les déclarations faites par le gouvernement fédéral le 27 janvier 2016. Ce dernier avait dit qu’il consultera les peuples autochtones par rapport au projet de notre territoire ancestral. Le Grand conseil Wolastoq est disposé à rencontrer le ministre des Ressources naturelles, Jim Carr, et d’autres fonctionnaires de rang supérieur, pour entamer des discussions critiques qui sont conformes à nos traités de paix et d’amitié dans une relation de nation à nation. La Couronne a une obligation légale d’adresser et de soutenir nos préoccupations en raison de l’inefficacité du processus de l’Office national de l’énergie.

    Le Grand conseil Wolastoq attend du délégué approprié de la Couronne une confirmation écrite de notre philosophie traditionnelle et de notre rejet du projet de l’Oléoduc Énergie Est, de la pipeline et de ses sables bitumineux, et ce, le plus rapidement possible.

    Ron Tremblay,
    Wolastoq Grand Chief / Grand chef de la nation Wolastoq
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