Canadian First Nation free to protest against shale gas— judge
A New Brunswick court lifted Monday an injunction against the Elsipogtog (ell-see-book-took) First Nation that prevented them from blocking access roads and/or equipment and vehicles used by SWN Resources, a company conducting seismic testing for shale gas in the Easter Canadian province.
According to MINING.com sources, which asked to remain anonymous, the ruling means that demonstrators are now legally allow protesting against SWN, as far as they don’t use weapons or act violently. It also implies that the RCMP cannot force them to end a rally, as it happened last Thursday.
Locals want SWN Resources to stop tests and leave the province. But the company says it’s only in the early stages of exploration and that nothing is being extracted.
Canadian Press reports that Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is in New Brunswick to show his support for the band and described the Mounties’ actions last week as the violent use of state power.
Shale gas has quickly emerged as a low-cost alternative to natural gas. With the goal of reducing carbon into the atmosphere, it is quickly becoming a “cleaner” alternative to other forms of energy.
Opponents, however, don’t believe that is really the case, as shale gas is extracted using a process called fracking, which is said to pollute water reservoirs and be a likely cause of seismic waves.
Photo by Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy.
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3 Comments
Matt
How silly this court injunction is. OF COURSE they are allowed to protest and rally, the same or maybe even more so than other Canadians. However they are not allowed to carry guns to protests, nor burn cop cars nor use any violence at all, nor can they block a PUBLIC road. Because that goes beyond protest and into a different realm.
KDM
Instead of putting all their time into protesting, maybe they should put more time into being productive. Wonder where these natives think their easier way of life comes from in the modern era? All from natural resources. Lets stop this big world of the modern age then really watch the belly achers come out. How will they heat their homes? Pretty sure they are cutting firewood for the winter months.
Apple
I advocate that all oil and gas exploration and extraction including the Oil sands and fracking be halted until Aboriginal land claims are settled across all of Canada. 100% settled. This also includes mining and mineral exploration and development plus all sand and gravel and quarry operations. All First Nation royalties or resource sharing outlined and signed by all First Nations. In addition, all environmental issues should be settled and all environmental groups sign off on the rules and regulations. The land claims must be settled to satisfaction of the First Nations and other stakeholders. Then new mining and environmental laws based on the results of the settlements should be drafted by Canada and the provinces. . .
But not a penny in exploration and development and not a penny in profits or taxes from mining until settled. This will allow everyone, First Nations, Canadians, Environmentalists and Industry to move forward in agreement. Then industry will understand where it stands and can decide if it wants to invest.
But I would insist no mining or extractive action until settled, 100% stopped until 100% settled.