A coalition of fishermen, communities, and environmental and social justice groups is asking the federal and provincial governments to take a deep dive into offshore drilling.
The Offshore Alliance wants to see a moratorium on drilling off the Nova Scotian coast until a full federal/provincial public inquiry into the practice can be done.
The coalition says the current regulatory body lacks scientific and democratic legitimacy.
Peter Puxley, a founding member of the Campaign to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia, which is a part of the alliance, says a recent spill of synthetic drilling mud at a BP drilling rig on the Scotian Shelf, shows an oil spill is more likely than previously thought.
“The only way to get to the bottom of this is to hold a full public inquiry that provides us with the full facts we need to determine if the drilling that’s going on there is worth the risks,” says Puxley.
The Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum (CNSOPB) suspended operations of the West Aquarius, which had been drilling at an exploratory well site until June 22 when a spill of 136 cubic metres of synthetic drilling mud took place.
CNSOPB continues its investigation.
Puxley says the last public inquiry into drilling in offshore Nova Scotia was the Georges Bank Review Panel, which led to the moratorium of drilling on the Canadian side of the bank in 1999.
“Given the massive threat to our fishery and tourism industries, indeed the very economic base of much of the province, we can’t afford anything less,” says John Davis, Director of the Clean Ocean Action Committee (COAC), whose members include fish plant owners, processors and fishermens’ organizations in the southwestern part of the province.
As a part of an inquiry they want to see the Scotian Shelf studied and have public testimony gathered.
“The area that’s being put at risk is an enormous area and we need a study of what’s at stake in that area,” says Puxley.
The Sierra Club Canada Foundation is also a part of the Offshore Alliance.
“The risk to endangered whales and other marine species due to poor review and regulation is truly alarming. If we are have to credible assessment and regulations – not to mention tackle climate change – we are going to take a serious look at offshore oil and gas,” says Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Program Director of Sierra Club Canada Foundation.
The group isn’t the only one asking for further say in offshore drilling, both the towns of Mahone Bay and Lunenburg have requested the government allow more public involvement and to halt drilling in the meantime.
The Offshore Alliance has sent letters to the federal and provincial governments asking for the moratorium and inquiry.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
Email: wentzell.brittany@radioabl.ca
