Rallies and public panels are being held in Halifax and locally this week to draw attention to the risks of offshore drilling.
Marion Moore, co-chair of the South Shore Chapter of the Council of Canadians, says they want to keep the spotlight on as the Maritime Energy Association’s Core Conference gets underway in Halifax.
“Public education is critical, people just don’t know that BP is right now drilling near Sable Island and we believe that once people do know, they’ll have the same concerns we do,” says Moore.
Although green energy is on the energy association’s agenda, they still have concerns.
“One of their silver sponsors is BP so we’re concerned about what it means when they talk about green energy,” says Moore. “The line we’re using is ‘offshore drilling is a part of our past, not our future.”
This year’s core conference is focused on Atlantic Canada’s energy future and Moore says they want to send a clear message that offshore drilling should not be a part of that.
The chapter is hosting a public panel Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Mahone Bay Centre with mayor David Devenne lined up as a panelist.
Mahone Bay town council recently sent a letter to the province asking for a moratorium on drilling.
The panel will also feature Maude Barlow, author and honorary chairperson of the Council of Canadians, Melissa Labrador, a Mi’kmaq knowledge keeper and artist, and Chelsea Fougere with the Campaign to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia.
Other events this week include a peaceful paddling flotilla Thursday, which will take place both in Mahone Bay and Lower Prospect at 10 a.m.
Several tourist based businesses including Lahave Adventures, Pleasant Paddling, and East Coast Outfitters are participating to voice their concerns with drilling.
Moore says they were inspired by the flotilla used to protest pollution from Northern Pulp.
Meanwhile, the Council of Canadians has just released data from a recent poll showing 54 per cent of Nova Scotians are against BP drilling off the coast.
The organization commissioned the poll through Corporate Research Associates.
CRA polled 400 random Nova Scotians by phone between August and September.
The question they asked recognized BP’s association in the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico.
The poll also found an overwhelming majority of Nova Scotians – 90 per cent, support requiring a capping stack – equipment used to temporarily seal ruptured deepwater oil wells – be located within 24 hour transport of offshore drilling sites.
This is required in the UK, Norway, and Alaska however the nearest one to Nova Scotia is located in Norway, which would take at least 12 days to arrive, according to the Council of Canadians.
The rig West Aquarius is doing exploratory drilling on the Scotian Shelf in water twice as deep as that of the Deepwater Horizon.
The rig, contracted by BP, spilled 136,000 litres of synthetic drilling mud in June, forcing a temporary closure.
Drilling has since restarted.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
Email: wentzell.brittany@radioabl.ca
