Fracking foes call for end to practice in B.C.
Commuters using Overlanders Bridge in Kamloops on Monday, March 27, were greeted by opponents of the practice of fracking, who created banners and signs as part of a provincewide initiative that saw similar demonstrations in dozens of cities.
In Kamloops, members of Transition Kamloops took park in the protests, which called on Premier David Eby to end fracking, also called hydraulic fracturing, which is a technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock. It involves drilling into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals at a rock layer, to release the gas inside.
Concerns about fracking include the creation of wastewater, the emission of greenhouse gases, the release of toxic air pollutants, the triggering of earthquakes and the generation of noise
Demonstrations were supported by Frack Free BC, a new alliance of organizations and individuals that launched last year at Eby’s cabinet swearing-in ceremony. Frack Free BC is calling on the premier to stop issuing new permits for gas wells, to set a date to phase out existing production and to develop a plan to support workers and communities to transition to a sustainable economy.
‘Very concerned’ Vernon residents hold anti-fracking rally
By Jasmine King Global News
Posted March 28, 2023
Vernon residents hold rally against fracking
The signs and speeches of demonstrators Monday afternoon hoped to send a message about fracking and the liquid natural gas industry in the province.
“We’re just trying to make sure that people understand what is going on now and what is being planned for our province for the future,” said protestor Janet Parkins, adding that there is “no good reason for us to continue this industry.”
Those who took part in the rally stood outside Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu’s office and said they had one goal.
“We want a discontinuation of fracking in this province,” Parkins said. “There are many areas in the world, many European countries, many states, even Quebec, who have banned fracking.”
Frack Free BC held rallies in over 40 communities across the province. This comes as the provincial government approved the Cedar LNG project.
“We’re very concerned, said Eli Pivnick, a member of Climate Action Now. “We don’t have much more time. The temperatures are rising fast.”
“Even though we keep having the Canadian government and the B.C. government put out new goals for how much we’re going to reduce greenhouse gases, we never hit the targets. They need much more of a push to do the right thing.”
Protestors say that although the effects aren’t felt as much in the valley, they hit each part of the province differently.
“Indigenous people are suffering from environmental degradation,” Parkins said. “They’re suffering negative health effects. Those of us here are really quite unaware of what’s going on up there. For no valuable purpose, we are ruining their lives, their livelihoods.”
Local groups want to see the government consider more renewable energy options in the near future.
Fracking is a practice used in 91 per cent of B.C.'s gas production.
Valerie Leung
Mar 27, 2023
Demonstrators with Frack Free BC in Richmond.
Demonstrators hung a banner off the Westminster Highway overpass over Highway 99 on Monday morning to protest fracking.
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Richmond was one of 40 B.C. communities where demonstrators from Frack Free BC, an organization calling for an end to fracking, hung their handmade banners.
Fracking is used in 91 per cent of B.C.’s gas production and is a form of natural gas extraction that requires pumping gallons of pressurized, chemically treated water into shattered rock formations.
The Frack Free BC campaign was launched at Premier David Eby’s cabinet swearing-in ceremony last year.
The organization is calling on Eby to stop issuing new permits for gas wells, to phase out existing production and instead to support transitioning workers and communities to a sustainable economy.
“Pollution from B.C.’s gas industry is poised to explode if the five proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) projects that the province is currently considering on the West Coast are approved, built and supplied with fracked gas,” Frack Free BC said in a media statement.
“This concern was heightened last week when the province approved the controversial Cedar LNG project.”
Fracking and LNG exports are responsible for “19 per cent of the province’s total greenhouse gas emissions,” according to Frack Free BC.
“With B.C. already projected to fall short of its 2030 target (40 per cent decrease from 2007), and communities facing increased health risks from fracking, it is past time for Premier Eby to act.”
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