Kent South NO SHALE GAS Kent Sud

N.B. Liberal leader defends position

CTV Atlantic 

Published Monday, February 10, 2014 7:12PM AST 

Fracking has been among the most volatile issues in New Brunswick in recent years and it looks like it will be a key issue in this year’s provincial election.

Liberal leader Brian Gallant waded into the debate Monday, defending his party’s support for a moratorium on fracking.

Gallant got a big round of applause when he reiterated his support for the energy east pipeline from Alberta to Saint John, but on the issue of fracking, his position got a polite acknowledgement from the board of trade.

“We wanted to have clarification around this position on the moratorium, what was he waiting for to make a final decision and I think he clarified that loud and clear for us today,” says Eric Poirier of the Saint John Board of Trade.

“I don’t think we should hydro frack until we fully understand the risk to our water and our environment based on scientific data,” says Gallant.

Gallant says major international studies on fracking will be released this year and should provide more information.            

Some Liberal supporters are keeping a close eye on how the party’s position on fracking is playing out in Saint John.

“We need to be a little stronger in the reasons why we’re waiting for some of these reports,” says Liberal party supporter Robert Boyce. “Right now, it feels like we’re on the fence and that’s never a good place to be in any type of important question.” There are nine seats up for grabs in the greater Saint John area and all of them belong to the conservatives. So far, the city council and major business groups are in line with the conservative position on resource development and fracking.

Premier David Alward supports fracking, but Gallant makes no apologies for his more cautious approach.

“Seems to me, we can all agree that this is a contentious issue, a controversial issue, so, let’s all agree to have the best scientific data before we make a decision,” says Gallant.

With eight months until the election, some observers say Gallant is playing it safe.

“He’s in somewhat of a safe place, because he’s not really saying yes or no. He’s saying we need to look into this more,” says UNBSJ political science professor J.P. Lewis.

CTV's Mike Cameron

Telegraph Journal

11 February 2014

Brian Gallant said Liberal Party won’t endorse the practice [unconventional shale gas] “until stringent regulations are in place to mitigate the risks, until we have implemented the recommendations of our own chief medical officer of health on fracking, until the required social licence is in place, until we have developed a plan for domestic infrastructure, until we have developed and updated and satisfactory royalty scheme and until we have developed a proper blueprint that shows in detail how the people of New Brunswick would benefit.”

“Two major studies in North America are slated to come out this year,”Gallant said, referencing a pending report from Environment Canada on the risks of hydraulic fracturing and a similar study by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.”