Sierra Club Reacts to Drill Permit Given to BP the day before Earth Day.

#NotSoHappyEarthDay

For immediate realease

Ottawa, April 22, 2018 - On Saturday, April 21, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) announced it was granting permission for BP to begin exploratory drilling off Nova Scotia.

“Coming as it did the day before Earth Day, a day set aside for all of us to come together to celebrate this fragile and magnificent planet and renew our continued determination to protect it, this announcement has been gut-wrenching,” according to Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Program Director of Sierra Club Canada Foundation.

Sierra Club, as members of the Offshore Alliance, organized a protest this week at the Liberal Party Convention in Halifax to draw attention to the threat to the environment and fishing and tourism industries caused by the BP exploratory drilling project and changes in federal Bill C-69 that would grant more powers to offshore petroleum boards. 

“With the Mi’kmaq Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office stating they need more consultation before drilling proceeds and local MP Bernadette Jordan stating she is still trying to get answers on local concerns - including the fact that capping stack would take 12 days to get onsite to cap a blowout - the announcement of the offshore board emphasizes how tone deaf these Boards are to public democratic processes and environmental concerns.”

“In spite of this approval we continue to call on the Board to deepen its consultations before damage is done. And we call on the federal government to reverse plans to give these Boards more powers in new Impact Assessment rules under Bill C-69. They are clearly not capable of undertaking fair and credible assessments & consultations.

 

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Contact:

 

Gretchen Fitzgerald

National Program Director

902.444.7096

gretchenf@sierraclub.ca