Activists rallied outside the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday calling on the province to reverse course on several controversial projects, including a fossil-fuel burning power plant, a hyperscale data centre, and a massive open-pit mine.
They also expressed opposition to a lifting of New Brunswick’s moratorium on shale gas fracking, a policy that’s currently under review. An estimated 350 people were in attendance for the rally, which took place as MLAs returned to Fredericton for the new legislative session.
“These projects will endanger our health, pollute our air and water, worsen climate change, and raise our electricity rates, while leading us away from an affordable future and the transition to clean, renewable and inexpensive energy that we need and deserve,” said Jim Emberger, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance, in a media release.
Photos taken at the event show what appears to be police or security monitoring the crowd from the roof of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery armed with a rifle mounted on a tripod. The NB Media Co-op has reached out to the Fredericton Police Force and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly for comment.
The rally was organized by Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition and Seniors for Climate Tantramar.
Supporting organizations included the NB Anti-Shale Gas Alliance, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment–New Brunswick, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, Save Lorneville, Stop the Tantramar Gas Plant, the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, the Coaltional for Responsible Energy Development NB, the Stop Sisson Mine Coalition, No Data Centres NB, ACORN, and NB Lung.
David Gordon Koch is a staff reporter with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, via the Local Journalism Initiative.
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