The Council of Canadians recently obtained a copy of Environment Canada’s work
plan on shale gas development under an access to information request. The
heavily redacted documents, “Activities Related to Shale Gas Development” and
“Shale Gas Action Plan,” outline the department’s work on shale gas including
researching emissions, gathering information on chemicals and provincial
regulatory requirements, and reviewing existing literature on fracking. The
Council of Canadian Academies, which is conducting a second independent review,
will examine the potential environmental impacts and technical mitigation
options.

“We support getting a better understanding of greenhouse gases, provincial
regulatory requirements and activities across the country,” says Maude Barlow,
National Chairperson for the Council of Canadians. “But Environment Canada’s
review relies on industry organizations for information on fracking chemicals
and fails to commit to any consultation with Indigenous communities or
municipalities on what their experiences with fracking have been. The federal
government’s review should be independent of industry. And communities hold
invaluable information on the impacts of fracking.”

The reviews rely on the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers for
information on fracking chemicals and commit to engaging other “industry
stakeholders on ongoing Environment Canada initiatives.” The documents do not
specify consultation with any Indigenous communities or municipalities who have
experienced fracking in their region.

“There are a couple of encouraging points in the documents like conducting
baseline surface water quality monitoring, setting up monitoring stations in
northeastern British Columbia, and considering changing the National Pollutant
Release Inventory to include shale gas drilling, which currently exempts oil and
gas wells,” says Emma Lui, Water Campaigner for the Council of Canadians. “But
the fact that they sent us an unsigned and heavily redacted document raises
questions of how committed the federal government is to these actions.”

“The documents also reveal that Environment Canada hopes that
’emissions from the shale gas sector are managed/minimized, consistent with
Canada’s climate change objectives,’ but can this really be genuine when the
biggest fracking operations in Canada go to fuel the tar sands?” asks Maryam
Adrangi, Energy Campaigner for the Council of Canadians. “Fracked gas, with
huge emissions and impacts on our water, is going to fuel oil extraction with
even more climate and water impacts.”

“We would support monitoring of existing fracking operations,” adds Lui. “But
ultimately fracking needs to be stopped. In no way should a commitment to
monitoring be construed as a way to expand fracking operations, which
would still contribute to climate emissions and destroy water and land.

Neither the Activities nor the Action Plan are signed by Environment Canada’s
Deputy Minister Paul Boothe or other Environment Canada officials. The Council
is raising questions about whether these documents were ever finalized and
whether this represents a genuine commitment from the federal government to
review fracking. A large number of sections of the Shale Gas Action Plan have
been redacted including the purpose and summary.

The Council of Canadians is calling for a ban, or at the very least a
moratorium, on fracking.