DON'T FRACK PEI

On June 7th, we are holding our second community training workshop – in Mill River. This will give you the tools and information that you need to spread the message about the issues related to fracking on PEI. We ask that you pre-register for the half-day session, as places are limited. Full details can be found here.

On May 3rd, we are holding a community training workshop. This will give you the tools and information that you need to spread the message about the issues related to fracking on PEI. We ask that you pre-register for the half-day session, as places are limited. See this sheet for more information.

This event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date.

Don’t Frack PEI invites interested persons to a Training Workshop Saturday, February 15, 2014,  9:30 a.m-1:00 p.m. St. Luke’s Hall, O’Leary Corner.

To pre-register: e-mail  info@dontfrackpei.com or phone, toll free, Cooper Institute 1(877) 894-4573. There is space  for 10-12 people.

The workshop will:
– provide participants with clear language information on fracking
– present ways to get other people in the community interested in fracking
– examine what anti-fracking actions would work in this community
– present ways to organize and promote a few community sessions on fracking
– suggest ways of forming teams to lead some anti-fracking sessions.

Fourteen people from Western PEI attended a meeting on Jan 22nd at Westisle school. After an introduction from Bill Costain of Christian Life Community, Andrew Lush spoke about the dangers of fracking, Eliza Knockwood sang a song and spoke about the native viewpoint and protests in NB, and Leo Broderick spoke about how we need to get the message out to the general population. A number of people signed up for a half-day workshop, to learn more and gain the tools needed to take the fight to the next level. Please contact us if you are interested in joining one of these workshops.

See a report in the Journal Pioneer here: http://www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2014-01-22/article-3586401/Speakers-express-concerns-about-fracking/1

For videos of the presentations, see our Videos page.

Don’t Frack PEI is sponsoring a general meeting on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 from 7 pm to 9 pm at Westisle Composite High School. The event is hosted by the Christian Life Community
(CLC) and chaired by Bill Costain of CLC. The session is open to all who have an interest in
learning more about, and taking action around, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for natural gas and
the threat this poses for PEI. Click here for more details.

On November 20th, Sean Casey MP presented a petition in the House of Commons. The petition was signed by 25 supporters of Don’t Frack PEI. Here is the transcript:

HYDRAULIC FRACKING
Mr. Sean Casey (Charlottetown, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of several residents of Prince Edward Island, including some from the great riding of Charlottetown.
The petitioners are concerned about the practice known as high volume hydraulic fracking. This practice is of particular concern to us in Prince Edward Island because 100% of our drinking water comes from groundwater.
The petitioners point out that there is no definitive impartial report that can be used to either support or denounce fracking, so they are asking the government to have the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development study high-volume hydraulic fracking, and in particular its potential impacts on drinking water resources, air quality, human health, and the health of aquatic and terrestrial eco-systems, as well as the potential for seismic risks.

If you would like to collect 25 signatures, and present a petition to your (or any) MP, you can download it here.

On Wednesday October 30th, Heidi Verheul of the Sierra Club gave a superb presentation, de-bunking the myths of fracking. Don’t Frack PEI and a new group, Renewable Energy PEI, also gave short talks. With 49 attendees, and a lot of new faces, we thank Heidi for coming to PEI at the start of her tour of the Atlantic provinces, and for providing us with so much evidence with which to counter the false claims of the industry. At the meeting, we gathered 25 signatures on a petition – enough to get an MP to read the petition in the House of Commons. The petition calls for a comprehensive federal review of the health and environmental effects of fracking.
footnote: Heidi’s workshop on the following Saturday had 14 participants, and provided us all with some new tools for social engagement.

On Saturday October 19th, activists from many Atlantic organizations met in Charlottetown. Under the banner of the Save Our Seas and Shores coalition (http://saveourseasandshores.ca), all five provinces bordering the Gulf were represented at the meeting – which was focused on how our groups can cooperate and organize. Andrew Lush gave a 15 minute presentation on the activities of Don’t Frack PEI, and Diana Messervy reported that fracking underneath the Gulf, in Newfoundland, may well start in less than a year. We all agreed to help with this immediate issue, and also to work together more closely in the future.

Don’t Frack PEI is holding a Public Meeting on Tuesday September 17th from 7pm to 9pm at Murphy’s Community Centre, Richmond Street, Charlottetown. Featuring Prof. Peter Clancy and Eliza Knockwood, and a song by Teresa Doyle, come and hear about the growing opposition to fracking across the Maritimes, and how fracking has no ‘social license’. We need your input as we discuss what we should do next to stop fracking from coming to PEI.

Please print this poster and help to publicize the meeting.

We presented to the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry on June 6th, and to the Land Use Task Force on June 7th. Both presentations were well received. The document that we developed for the presentations outlines all our concerns with fracking, and it can be read here. Matthew’s presentation on how we can power PEI with existing renewable technology can be read here. The Standing Committee transcript can be read here.