Monday, October 21, 2013

Inside The Sun

Most Canadians oppose natural-gas 'fracking'

In B.C., 67 per cent support moratorium on controversial extraction method in shale deposits
Natalie Stechyson, Postmedia News
Published: Monday, February 06, 2012

The majority of Canadians and a strong majority of British Columbians oppose hydraulic fracturing - better known as
"fracking" - and would sup-port a moratorium on the natural gas extraction method, a poll reveals.
The Environics Research poll, commissioned by the Council of Canadians, found that 62 per cent of the Canadians
polled supported a moratorium on all fracking for natural gas until all environmental reviews are complete.
B.C. residents, at 67 per cent, were most likely to support a moratorium on fracking. B.C. was followed by Atlantic
Canada, where 66 per of those polled supported a moratorium, then Ontario (65 per cent), Manitoba/Saskatchewan
(64 per cent), Alberta (57 per cent) and Quebec (55 per cent).
"The poll results send a strong message that Canadians are really wanting the federal government to put in place a
moratorium until the reviews are complete, and so we're hoping that the federal government will take up the call," said
Emma Lui, the water campaigner for the Council of Canadians.
"One of the biggest concerns are the impacts on water sources, in terms of potential contamination and the amount of
water that's used for fracking, but there's also greenhouse gases and then impacts on public health ..."
Twenty-eight per cent of Canadians opposed the imposition of a moratorium on fracking. Opposition was strongest in
Quebec (36 per cent), where it has already been halted.
The energy industry's method of extracting shale gas sees a mix of water, sand and chemicals pumped kilometres
underground into drilled wells to break apart shale rock formations, freeing gas to rise to the surface. Critics have
connected the practice to groundwater contamination, earthquakes and soil contamination.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers maintains that the practice can be done safely and reliably, and
released a new set of fracking guidelines in late January. Those guidelines include base-line groundwater testing,
using the least environmentally harmful products and ensuring proper wellbore construction.
There is no federal legislation on fracking, and regulations on water and drilling permits vary from province to
province. Last September, Ottawa said it was launching two separate reviews of the process.
Vancouver Sun 2012
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