Council of Canadians calls for fracking ban in lead-up to Global Frackdown

Ottawa – On the eve of the Global Frackdown – the Council of Canadians is calling for a ban, or at the very least a moratorium, onfrackingfrom coast to coast.

The Council points to the fact that evenanalysts of the industryhave acknowledgedthat fracking fluids won’t be safe for human consumption within the next five years, but the organization questions the claims that fracking would be safe even by then.

Yesterday, the Council of Canadians delivered petitions signed by nearly 10,000 people who are demanding a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Canada until the federal reviews are complete. On the same day, the government of Quebec implemented a complete moratorium on shale gas fracking, heeding concerns raised by thousands of Québécois(e) about the risks posed by frackingto people and the environment.

“We’re callingfor a ban, but at the very least a moratorium is needed onfracking exploration and extraction. There are simply far too many risks and far too many unanswered questions,” says Emma Lui, water campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “Given that these toxic chemicals and methane find their way into the local drinking water supply – in some cases making the water flammable – a moratorium until fracking fluids can be proven safe is an obvious, prudent solution to the growing controversy surrounding the practice.”

Environment Minister Peter Kent noted in 2011 that while the “responsibility for shale gas, as with conventional gas and oil exploration and development, is one that rests with the provinces and territories” he acknowledged that the federal government had the authority to stop fracking and “would have to consider ways of acting to limit or control it” if the practice were found to pose a “significant broad environmental risk.”

The Global Frackdown is an international day of action with over 150 events organized in over 20 countries calling for a worldwide ban on fracking.

This article is a press release from the Council of Canadians.