A group of doctors and other health professionals says the province should put in place a permanent ban on fracking, saying it presents “unacceptable health risks” in nearby communities, including birth defects.
A growing body of research links fracking with serious health problems, according to the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). Earlier this year, the group’s New Brunswick chapter issued a statement suggesting that expanded fracking would put additional strain on the health care system.
The group cited a review of 50 studies on the health effects of fracking published by the Canadian Journal of Public Health. “The report confirms the growing medical evidence that fracking can lead to serious adverse health outcomes, including birth defects, low birthweight, childhood cancers, asthma, heart disease, and a higher risk of mortality,” CAPE NB said in the statement.
“I’m concerned about my children, my grandchildren, and all the children of the pregnant woman of New Brunswick,” said Dr. Renée Turcotte, a retired physician who is chair of the CAPE New Brunswick committee. She also noted that natural gas from fracking is primarily composed of methane, a major contributor to the global climate crisis.
Fracking is especially harmful for Indigenous communities, she said. “They are very affected by that because most of the time the wells are close to their community,” she said. “And it pollutes their water, it pollutes the flora and it pollutes the fauna.”
Watch the interview with Dr. Renée Turcotte
Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial technique that involves injecting water, chemicals, and sand or other materials at high pressure into shale rock formations to force open geological fissures, releasing oil and gas.
Where do New Brunswick’s political parties stand?
Tory Leader Blaine Higgs has repeatedly called for more shale gas development in New Brunswick, even carving out an exemption from a Liberal-era fracking moratorium to allow for some new development near Sussex. The Progressive Conservatives didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story, but Higgs has argued that shale gas is needed for New Brunswick to transition away from coal, and that its exports could make Europe less dependent on Russian fossil fuels.
In 2014, the Liberal government implemented a “temporary” moratorium, which then-Premier Brian Gallant said wouldn’t be lifted until several conditions were met. Those included a “social licence” for fracking, along with “clear and credible information about the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on our health, environment and water,” allowing for the creation of regulations “with sufficient enforcement capabilities.”
The other conditions included “a plan that mitigates the impacts on our public infrastructure,
consultations with First Nations, and a mechanism “to ensure that benefits are maximized for New Brunswickers, including the development of a proper royalty structure.”
Unable to meet those conditions, the Liberals later extended the moratorium indefinitely but stopped short of a permanent fracking ban. At a Liberal Party convention in February, members voted for a resolution “that a future Liberal government adopt a permanent moratorium on the exploration and exploitation of shale gas in New Brunswick.”
But it’s unclear whether that non-binding resolution will translate to a policy commitment. “We have no comment,” a spokesperson for the Liberal Party said in response to queries for this story. In February, Liberal Leader Susan Holt was quoted by the Telegraph-Journal saying “I have made it clear that we are not interested in yesterday’s energy sources” but questioning whether people would see a “meaningful difference between the current moratorium and a permanent ban.”
The Green Party has long called for the province to ban fracking altogether. “We are in a deepening climate crisis,” Green Party Leader David Coon said in an interview. “Fossil gas needs to be safely stored underground and not burned.” Coon, who worked for more than 30 years at the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, noted that research on the health risks of fracking has developed significantly in recent years, “as if what we already knew back 15 years ago wasn’t sufficient.”
In the 2014 general election, Coon noted, he defeated “the chief spokesperson for the Conservatives’ fracking agenda,” former Minister of Energy and Mines Craig Leonard, as opposition to fracking reached a climax in New Brunswick.
Chief Terry Richardson of Oinpegitjoig, also called Pabineau First Nation, said there’s no support for fracking in his community. “The reason being, we have wells here,” he said. “That’s our source of water here in the community and people are scared about that… And I stand with them on that.”
He said improvement to the fracking process might cause him to reconsider his opposition. “If there’s a way and there’s a change, by all means, let’s look at it,” he said. “I’m not not opposed to development.”
But he added that it’s unlikely that there would be a market for natural gas in Europe — where Higgs has suggested there are major export opportunities — by the time enough fracking infrastructure would be in place in New Brunswick.
“I do follow a lot of what’s going on in the energy sector and there’s articles written that Europe doesn’t want any more natural gas,” Richardson said. “They look at it as a transition over the next five to seven years.”
Fracking has previously met with fierce opposition from various quarters in New Brunswick. Elsipogtog First Nation became the focal point for the anti-fracking movement in 2013, as shale gas exploration took place nearby. Following months of blockades, RCMP enforced a court injunction in an operation that saw dozens of arrests and several police vehicles torched.
This article was updated on October 2, 2024 at 8 p.m. to include more details about the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties’ stances on fracking.
David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).