The NB Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing has just produced their report, and it is pretty good. The report can be found here: https://www.nbchf-cnbfh.ca/documents

Here are some of their enlightened findings:

“The Government of New Brunswick must move from project-specific consultation to ongoing collaboration because, as we learned through our work, New Brunswick residents are no longer satisfied with simply understanding government decisions; they want to be at the table. They want to be a part of the decision-making process.”

“On the surface, activist anger appeared to dominate the public discussion, but once we dove a bit deeper, we discovered the issue of shale gas was also rooted in weariness and fear felt by all sides that New Brunswick is incapable of change.”

“There is a disconnect between the Government of New Brunswick and residents around issues of economic development and land use.”

And a summary by the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA) picks our these recommendations that are made in the report:

“All policies must consider the impacts on climate change before proceeding, and must guarantee the ‘long-­term viability’ of our water and energy resources.”

“Environmental and energy policy should lead us into the new value-­added and knowledge-­based economy.”

“The relationship between governments and First Nations must be rebuilt from the ground-­‐up on a nation-­to-­nation basis.”

“Discussions with First Nations, municipalities and citizens, especially those bearing the risks, must be based on the two-­way flow of objective and scientifically valid information in order to do a valid risk/benefit analysis and to ask for social license.”

“A Health Impact Assessment must be included with the Environmental Impact Statement. Both must examine cumulative effects over space and time, and look beyond a particular project in isolation.”

“The mapping of aquifers and baseline data, such as water quality, air quality and health conditions, must be established before any development begins.”

The NBASGA press release can be found here.