There are "Probably" ways to make a living? Obviously those ways are few and far between or there wouldn't be a large amount of the population on welfare or moving west for jobs. Many of those who do have jobs can still barely make ends meet because they are low paying. Who told you opposition to drilling in the area is widespread? Certainly not the large amount of people who I've talked to!  The opposition is not as wide spread as those opposed would like people to believe and people know what the industry can do for Cape Bretoners so they want it here. There is actually a very small amount opposed to it but as with any type of protest, they want people to believe there are many more on their side than what there actually are. I'm glad you agree that Cape Bretoners need sustainable jobs and if there's as much resource in the Ainslie Block as they expect, oil and gas industry will create jobs for many years. What have First Nations taught? They don't need to worry about jobs because the tax dollars collected from white people go to support them. A treaty that originally was to give them flour, a few blankets and things a year has grown to new houses and  whatever else they want so they've learned they have to do nothing. And before you criticize, my spouse and children have status which they refuse to use because of the embarrasment it brings.

Petroworth is not fracking shale gas at Lake Ainslie, they're drilling a conventional oil well. Inverness County's municipal government has no power or jurisdiction to ban fracking or drilling for oil or gas. The Margaree Environmental Association has not filed a legal appeal of the drill permit to the Supreme Court but just a belated Appeal to the Minister of Environment. The Mohawk are not the First Nations in Nova Scotia, the Mi'kmaq are and were consulted under the province's Environment Act. For over a year now this has been very, very strictly a ban fracking shale gas campaign driven by the national Council of Canadians and the province's leading environmental groups. The Nova Scotia government even launched a Review of Fracking Shale Gas and invited public comments, but there were no concerns or information about drilling conventional oil wells or the problems with Nova Scotia's environmental assessment and approval  and regulatory processes no matter what they're drilling or mining for. It's a very sad state of affairs when even Mining Association President Peter Oram spells out a big part of the problem happening in communities across  Nova Scotia: "We probably spend 80 per cent of the time in discussions during public consultation about mining issues that have nothing to do with the actual mine that we're trying to permit. It's related to tailings issues in South America. It's related to labour issues or Aboriginal peoples' issues in Columbia. We spend about 80 per cent of our total effort talking about all kinds of other mines all over the planet and about 20 per cent of the time in public consultation actually talking about the project that we're trying to do. One of the struggles through permitting is spending all that time on those other issues and unfortunately it detracts away from the project that you're really trying to talk about" - http://nslegislature.ca/index.php/committees/committee_hansard/C10/re_2010jun17 . The Protect Lake Ainslie and other such facebook and media sites about fracking shale gas are classic examples of the same problem: no facts about what is actually happening in the oil fields of Lake Ainslie and other communities across Nova Scotia thus preventing any honest or informed discussion about any of it.  In another example, contrary to popular propaganda that all the coal is imported, "We burn - 10 per cent or 20 per cent of our coal is from Nova Scotia" according to Christopher Huskilson, President & CEO Emera Inc, and lots more information not fit to mention by the province's leading environmental groups at http://nslegislature.ca/index.php/committees/committee_hansard/C10/re_2011oct20 .  So stop the fracking shale gas madness already and take a look at what's really happening in the oil and gas and mining industries in Cape Breton and other communities across Nova Scotia and get the facts right, otherwise you're part of the problem instead of the solution don't you think?
 

 Reality check,check reality.Petrowortbn holds a valid lease for oil and gas,and at public meetings in both West lake A inslie ,October 2010,and Waycobah,February 2011 ,Petroworth President Neal Mednick said that if the test well results indicted a that frac'ing was  appropriate ,then they would frac.Given the fact that gas and oil have been encountered in previous explorations in the area,it is misleading to claim  that the dangers of gas development are off the table,and absolutely no factual basis for your claim that a frac'ing ban exists in this province  

Regarding Frac'ng the failure of the popular press has given the misleading notion that opposition to frac'ing means opposition to the process of hydraulic fracturing where in fact ,the opposition is to every single aspect of shale gas development from ,seismic testing to pipeline ,drilling, pumping, waste water pits, noise,water and air  pollution  from wells, condenses,compressors,odorizers  and  ,trucks and noise ,and to pipeline right of ways .

I am sorry you don't find facebook page useful,it is a little unwieldy  try www.savelakeainslie.org.there you will find links to peer reviewed science showing that

1,Shale gas production and leaks  produce more greenhouse gases than burning coal 

.http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/Howarth%20et%20al%20%202011.pdf

2.thermogenic methane contaminates water wells near gas operations

 http://www.pnas.org/content/108/20/8067

3,even case stage drilling muds contain toxic chemicals that present a threat to human health

I don't know if this one is  on the site,but you should read it too.It isn't published science ,simply a warning from the International Energy Agency about how any new fossil fuel development will commit society to runaway greenhouse effect

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/09/fossil-fuel-infrastructure-climate-change

and Here Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan explain runaway Greenhouse effect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu1PicT0TMU

Nope I don't live in Whycocomagh anymore. We moved west 3 years ago to have good jobs and give our kids a better life. Contrary to your statement Megan, we do teach our kids their heritage but they see themselves their relatives that do nothing so we are teaching them they have to work for what they want. Geoffery, your 1700 members on your group are NOT all in agreeance with you. I am one of those members along with my wife and other family members. None of us agree with what you people are trying to do but we are on there to read the things for a good laugh. Its quite entertaining really. We have guests over for dinner and discuss the posts laughing at how your group pretends that oil and gas is such an outrageous thing. Our children even read it and its quite sad when a 10 year old is laughing at you because they know theres a gas well that we can see from our kitchen window. So 1700 members yes but not 1700 supporters. I know some of the people who went to those meetings too and believe me not all of them agree with you so that was not 100 supporters rather just 100 people interested in the topic. Oh ya we left Whycocomagh, our familys and just about everything we owned to come to Estevan, Sask and I'm a fracer. Too bad just about all your supporters have never even seen a gas or oil well.