Nouvelles des groupes
- Détails
- Publié par : Stephen Gilbert
- Affichages : 124719
New Brunswick Oil and Natural Gas Blueprint
Wishful Thinking about Our Future
The government’s blueprint is not a plan for the future; it is the history of a past to which we cannot return. It was forged in an alternate reality created by fossil fuel companies, banks and PR firms. No outside information may pass into this reality. How else can we explain the following about the plan?
It ignores the worldwide alarms from scientists, global financial and energy institutions, and the world’s military and intelligence establishments that climate change is the most serious threat to our existence, our financial systems, and our security. Yet, the blueprint bases our future on shale gas and tar sands, two of the worst emitters of greenhouse gases.
It ignores the lack of public health studies about shale gas, and disregards the serious warnings raised from the studies that do exist.
It ignores implementing many of its own Chief Medical Officer’s recommendations for baseline health studies, and relegates others to a ‘will be considered in the future’ status.
It ignores adequately addressing some recommendations by simply claiming they are answered in the ‘Rules for Industry’. Those concerning fracking fluid disclosure, well testing and setbacks clearly are not.
It ignores the fact that insinuating the newly created Energy Institute into matters formerly handled by health professionals will only deepen public mistrust.
It ignores the calls from New Brunswick health professionals, including doctors, nurses and cancer and lung associations, for a moratorium until studies can be done.
It ignores the extensive record of air and water pollution that has occurred everywhere shale has been produced, regardless of regulations, including ignoring data from industry’s own records showing a high frequency of well failures.
It ignores the facts that alternative energies such as wind and solar are the fastest growing parts of the energy sector and are supplying increasing amounts of energy and good long-term jobs at competitive costs - everywhere else in the world but here.
It ignores the growing number of economic studies that show that local communities do not profit from shale gas, and that most fare worse than similar non-shale communities on virtually every socio-economic measure.
It ignores the growing number of financial and petroleum analysts who have taken the measure of shale gas through industry records and judged it to be a bubble that will soon burst. They question its longevity and its business plan.
It ignores the growing number of countries, states, provinces, regions and municipalities (including many in New Brunswick) that have instituted bans or moratoriums on shale gas.
And, most troubling of all, it has ignored the voices of its own citizens.
It ignored a 2011 petition with 20,000 signatures, and a recent letter from groups representing more than 50,000 people calling for a halt to shale exploration.
It ignores the growing number of diverse social, labor, professional, environmental, health, political and citizen groups that continue banding together to oppose shale gas.
It ignores its treaty duty to do real consultation with First Nations, and ignores its own call for public meetings. It even ignores the well-researched public comments from the alleged ‘listening tour’ conducted by Dr. LaPierre.
Instead it has listened to the shale industry exclusively, and kowtowed to its needs, whether by not punishing lawbreakers like Windsor Energy, or by improperly granting license renewals to SWN on the flimsiest of excuses.
It has listened to industry trade groups like the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, whose language, deceptive advertising, disinformation, and meaningless phrases like, ‘best practices,’ show up in the government’s blueprint and website.
It has listened to Dr. LaPierre, a biologist with no demonstrated expertise on shale gas, who sits on the board of NB Power and channeled their wishes in his report. In return he was rewarded with the patronage job of chairmanship of the publicly funded Energy Institute that he, and he alone, had proposed – a new government entity that will cost taxpayers a million dollars in its first year.
It has listened to the self-interested banks via former premier Frank McKenna, who represents TD Bank – a major investor in Transcanada’s pipeline business, and a bank that makes fortunes from oil and gas mergers and acquisitions.
It has listened to Hawk Communications, a public relations firm it hired with at least $200,000 of taxpayer money, not to improve communications, but to help sell the LaPierre report.
In short, to govern in New Brunswick is to live in a self-contained universe with no links to the outside world. Only in such a place could the government’s blueprint be deemed a serious approach to the issues facing both New Brunswick and the earth.
Therefore, we call again for a halt to any exploration and production of shale oil or gas, until such a time that the citizens have had a chance to examine in depth all the factors surrounding it. Only then can they explicitly reject it, or proceed with it after understanding all of its implications.
- Détails
- Publié par : Stephen Gilbert
- Affichages : 20948
A delegation representing 27 community groups, organizations and unions publically presented the attached letter to SWN Resources in Moncton on April 30, 2013. It was also sent to all other companies conducting shale gas exploration in New Brunswick. The letter points out that the companies do not have a social license to operate in the province, and advises them to halt their exploration activities.
Since the time of the presentation, two additional groups have signed the letter: Friends of Tantramar Marsh and the Elsipogtog Band Council.
Moncton, April 30 2013
To shale oil and gas companies and supporting operators in New Brunswick1:
We are a group of 27 associations, organizations and unions representing tens of thousands of New Brunswickers, urban and rural; Anglophone, Francophone and Aboriginal.
We are writing today to advise you that you are operating in New Brunswick without a social license. Furthermore, for those companies whose license was renewed after November 2012, we consider your current exploration license invalid.
We are writing today to advise you that you are operating in New Brunswick without a social license
In winter 2011, petitions to ban shale gas exploration and production totaling nearly 20,000 signatures were delivered to the New Brunswick Legislature. On November 27, 2012, groups representing a wide cross-section of both rural and urban New Brunswickers rallied in front of the Legislature and demanded our government to immediately stop ongoing shale gas exploration, the granting of any new licenses, and the renewal of existing ones. These demands were restated in an open letter to Energy and Mines Minister Craig Leonard delivered on February 28 2013, which was signed by organizations representing more than 50,000 New Brunswickers.
Most New Brunswickers do not want exploration and further development of shale hydrocarbons
As evidenced by the results of several polls, and as indicated by continued public protests and the increasing number of municipalities that have passed bans on fracking, most New Brunswickers do not want exploration and further development of shale hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the current provincial government has neither a mandate nor the consent of the aboriginal and non-aboriginal people of New Brunswick to allow hydrocarbon extraction in our shale formations.
The government has neither a mandate nor the consent of the Aboriginal and non-aboriginal people of New Brunswick to allow hydrocarbon extraction in our shale formations
If your license was renewed after our petition of November 2012, and since the renewal was only made possible by a questionable amendment to our Oil and Gas Act, please note that we do not accept as valid your current exploration license, and neither will a democratic government, formed after the provincial elections next year, grant its conversion to a lease.
We urge you to reconsider your plans and stop any further exploration and drilling in this province until proper public consultation has taken place
We, the people of New Brunswick, do not want to become a sacrifice zone for extreme energy extraction. We have come to realize, through scientific and economic studies, that mining for shale gas and oil is detrimental to human prosperity here and anywhere in the world. As a matter of fact, several leading organizations (e.g. International Energy Agency, World Bank) have warned that we must keep unconventional fossil fuels in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Given all the above, we urge you to reconsider your plans and stop any further exploration and drilling in this province until proper public consultation has taken place.
Sincerely concerned about health, water, and climate change,
27 organizations, associations and unions of NB
1. Including, but not necessarily limited to: SWN Resources Canada, Corridor Resources Inc., Contact Exploration Inc., Windsor Energy Inc., and Geokinetics Exploration Inc.
Canadian Union of Public Employees New Brunswick (CUPE NB)
CCNB Action
Citizens Coalition for Clean Air
Cornhill and Area Residents Association
Council of Canadians – Saint John Chapter
Council of Canadians – Fredericton Chapter
Darlings Island Fracking Intervention Naguwigewauk
ecoFredericton Sustainable Living Inc.
Fredericton & District Labour Council
Friends of Mount Carleton
Hampton Water First
Maliseet Grand Council
Memramcook Action
New Brunswickers Against Fracking
New Brunswick Senior Citizens Federation
National Farmers Union New Brunswick (NFU NB)
Notre Environnement, Notre Choix
Parents Against Everyday Poisons
Penniac Anti-Shale Gas Organization
Sierra Club Atlantic
Sikniktuk Mi'kmaq Rights Coalition
Stanley Area Action Group
Sustainable Energy Group
Tantramar Alliance Against Hydrofracking
Upper Miramichi Stewardship Alliance
Upriver Environment Watch
Water and Environmental Protection for Albert County
- Détails
- Publié par : Tashina Thomas
- Affichages : 7980
Vous êtes-vous demandé si l'oléoduc de bitume proposé va passer près de votre porte? Ou peut-être près de votre sentier favori? Voici une carte de la route à travers le Nouveau-Brunswick jusqu'à Saint-Jean.
Le Pembina Institute a fait une analyse intéressante sur les conséquences climatiques provenant de l’accroissement de l’extraction des sables bitumineux rendue possible par la construction du pipeline Keystone. Selon David Coon, chef du Parti vert, « Il semble que pour sa part, la construction du pipeline vers le port de Saint-Jean permettrait une augmentation de 27 % de la production des sables bitumineux ce qui causerait en amont seulement des émissions équivalant à la construction de 4 centrales électriques au charbon ou à l’utilisation de 4,6 millions d’automobiles additionnelles sur nos routes. »
- Détails
- Publié par : Stephanie Merrill
- Affichages : 17179
For Immediate Release
April 22, 2013
http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/conservation-council-announces-2013-eco-heroes/
Fredericton – The Conservation Council of New Brunswick will present its annual Milton F. Gregg Conservation Awards in Fredericton on Saturday, April 27th.
The award for lifetime achievement will be presented to Alma Brooks, a Maliseet grandmother and long-time activist for the Wulustuk River, also known as the Saint John River.
Charles Theriault who uses the power of film to engage New Brunswickers on the threats facing our forest and people will receive the award for environmental activism.
The Taymouth Community Association will be recognized for their organization's work over 10 years since they purchased the community school and transformed it into a centre of community capacity building, local economic initiatives and social cohesiveness.
The recipients will be honoured on the evening of Saturday, April 27th at the Conservation Council's annual fundraiser and awards nights. This year, CCNB is excited to announce an Eco-Soirée with popular Acadian indie-folk trio, Les Hay Babies. The special event will be held at Memorial Hall, UNB, Fredericton, beginning at 7:30pm.
The Gregg Conservation Award winners are selected by CCNB's Board of Directors from nominations submitted by their membership. The Milton F. Gregg Conservation Awards have been presented annually by the Conservation Council since 1981.
Tickets to the event are available for purchase online, at Conserver House (180 Saint John St, Fredericton), Westminster Books, True Food Organics or by emailing [email protected].
-30-
Contact: Celine Delacroix, Executive Director, 506 458-8747
- Détails
- Publié par : Fundy Biosphere Reserve
- Affichages : 76688
- Détails
- Publié par : Terry Wishart
- Affichages : 147764
(Letter available for download here. Ici en Francais)
Fredericton, February 27 2013
Honourable Craig Leonard
Energy and Mines Minister
CC:
Honourable Bruce Fitch, Environment and Local Government Minister
Honourable David Alward, Premier of New Brunswick
Dear Minister Leonard,
We are a group of 29 associations, organizations and unions representing [tens of] thousands of New Brunswickers, rural and urban; Anglophone, Francophone and Aboriginal.
"Your release of new rules for the oil and gas industry on February 15 2013 presumes that you have a mandate from the public"
Your release of new rules for the oil and gas industry on February 15 2013 presumes that you have a mandate from the public. We believe that you have no such mandate and are not entitled to release these rules or take any further steps to proceed with the extraction of shale gas in New Brunswick. We base our claim on the following REASONS:
“Shale gas and hydraulic fracturing were never mentioned in your Party‘s 2010 electoral platform”
(1) Shale gas and hydraulic fracturing were never mentioned in your Party‘s 2010 electoral platform. You cannot claim that your voters were aware that you were using the term ‘natural gas’ as a synonym for the above.
(2) You have a responsibility to protect the public from environmental harm. There is growing scientific and anecdotal evidence that shale gas extraction is an activity that can potentially cause significant harm. Therefore, you cannot allow such activity until the risks are fully assessed. Such assessment can be done without exposing the public to the actual risks, which is what you are in fact doing by allowing exploration and drilling. Ignoring your responsibility to protect the public cannot possibly be called ‘responsible’. Therefore, your current plans cannot be reconciled with the statement in your 2010 platform that you will “support the responsible expansion of the natural gas sector in New Brunswick”.
“You have a responsibility to protect the public from environmental harm”
(3) The two points above clearly show you do not have a mandate to renew existing licenses related to shale gas exploration or drilling, or to grant new ones. We believe doing so is undemocratic and irresponsible, for the aforementioned reasons.
(4) You have never held public meetings to consult with your constituents about the decision to move ahead with shale gas, even though you have been requested to do so. Shale gas licensees have conducted open houses, and you hired Dr. LaPierre to solicit feedback on an earlier version of the new rules. However, industry marketing exercises and Dr. LaPierre’s pro forma consultation, where no elected officials were present, are no substitutes for a meaningful two-way consultative process.
“You do not have a mandate to renew existing licenses related to shale gas exploration or drilling, or to grant new ones”
(5) You do not have the free, prior, and informed consent of the First Nations in this province to explore, license or mine for shale gas, which is a requirement under Canada's own rule-of-law.
“You have never held public meetings to consult with your constituents about the decision to move ahead with shale gas”
(6) You have ruled out a moratorium on shale gas based on false claims. Specifically, in your Statement to the Legislative Assembly on the future of the oil and gas industry in New Brunswick made on November 28th 2012, you claimed that both Dr. LaPierre’s and Dr. Cleary’s reports came to the same conclusion – a moratorium on shale gas exploration is neither required nor desirable in New Brunswick. This claim has no basis in fact, as shown in the next three points.
"Consult on the question of whether the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Peoples of New Brunswick want the shale gas industry to operate within provincial boundaries"
(7) You did not give a mandate to Dr. LaPierre to make recommendations on a moratorium on shale gas. We understand this decision, since we perceive he may be in a conflict of interest on this subject, given he is a Director of NB Power. The latter has expressed interest in converting some power generation facilities to natural gas and hence has a vested interest in the development of a local shale gas industry.
“You have ruled out a moratorium on shale gas based on false claims”
(8) Yet Dr. LaPierre created his own, ethically questionable, mandate and ruled out a moratorium on shale gas, and you made his conclusion yours. You seemingly did not pay attention to the fact that he did not derive such conclusion from the content of his report or the input he received from the public. Rather, he derived it from fallacious arguments such as that a moratorium is incompatible with a science-based approach and would leave the issues undefined. Therefore, you cannot claim that his report came to that conclusion, or that the conclusion is based on sound evidence or perceived public will. The conclusion is rather Dr. LaPierre’s biased and flawed personal opinion.
“Any inferred comment on a moratorium was not the intention or the point of my report”
- Chief Medical Officer Dr. Eilish Cleary
(9) Dr. Cleary’s report drew no conclusions on a moratorium, and does not even contain the word ‘moratorium’. When asked about this, Dr. Cleary has stated that “any inferred comment on a moratorium was not the intention or the point of my report”. Furthermore, some of us brought to your attention the falsehood of your claim about Dr. Cleary’s report and asked you to retract it, a demand that you ignored. Therefore you cannot claim you were not aware of this misrepresentation.
“You have not substantiated your claim that the benefits for the people of New Brunswick will outweigh the risks you intend to subject them to”
(10) You have not substantiated your claim that the benefits for the people of New Brunswick will outweigh the risks you intend to subject them to. The experience of people living in various shale plays across North America is that the purported benefits do not trickle down to the society at large, while extensive environmental, health and social problems do.
Considering the above, we DEMAND that your government:
(1) Bring the following to an immediate stop: ongoing shale gas exploration, the granting of any new licenses for exploration or wells, and the renewal of existing ones.
(2) Reopen the case for a moratorium and commission an independent panel of scientists with no conflict of interest with industry to review it.
(3) Apologize to the public for the false claims ruling out a moratorium and publicly retract them.
(4) Consult on the question of whether the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Peoples of New Brunswick want the shale gas industry to operate within provincial boundaries. We believe the consultative process should not start until (i) the risks are fully assessed; and (ii) a credible scenario-based business case is developed to assess potential benefits.
We kindly ask that you reply promptly and publicly to this letter.
Respectfully,
29 organizations, associations and unions of New Brunswick
(please see alphabetical list below)
Canadian Union of Public Employees New Brunswick (CUPE NB)
CCNB Action
Citizens Coalition for Clean Air
Concerned Citizens of Penobsquis
Council of Canadians – Saint John Chapter
Council of Canadians – Fredericton Chapter
Darlings Island Fracking Intervention Naguwigewauk
ecoFredericton Sustainable Living Inc.
Fredericton & District Labour Council
Friends of Mount Carleton
Friends of the UNB Woodlot
Hampton Water First
Maliseet Grand Council
Memramcook Action
New Brunswickers Against Fracking
New Brunswick Senior Citizens Federation
National Farmers Union New Brunswick (NFU NB)
Notre Environnement, Notre Choix
Parents Against Everyday Poisons
Penniac Anti-Shale Gas Organization
Quality of Life Initiative
Sierra Club Atlantic
Sikniktuk Mi'kmaq Rights Coalition
Stanley Area Action Group
Taymouth Community Association
Tantramar Alliance Against Hydrofracking
Upper Miramichi Stewardship Alliance
Upriver Environment Watch
Water and Environmental Protection for Albert County
