Halifax Coalition Against Fracking Joins Day of Solidarity for Elsipogtog Anti-Fracking Protests

8am event at Quinpool Irving followed by noon event at the Lieutenant Governor's residence

by The Halifax Coalition Against Fracking

One of the Peace and Friendship Treaties signed between the British Crown and the Mi'Kmaq

In response to a call for an Emergency Day of Action in solidarity with the Elsipogtog protests against hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the Halifax Coalition Against Fracking will be applying pressure to both the Crown and the Irving Corporation on Monday, December 2. The group supports Mi’Kmaq-led protesters in New Brunswick who are seeking to halt seismic testing by the Texas-based corporation SWN Resources.

“The governments have clearly failed us, so we are calling on the Crown to step in,” says Alyson McCready, a member of the group that will be reading the Peace and Friendship Treaties at the residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (the Crown's representative) at noon on Monday.  “In this part of Atlantic Canada we are governed by Peace and Friendship Treaties between the Mi'Kmaq and the Crown.  The Mi’Kmaq never surrendered title to the land in such a way as to permit the New Brunswick Government to allow fracking or seismic testing in their unceded territories. The current struggle to protect the water at Elsipogtog stems from the irresponsible actions of the Crown's representatives and their lack of respect for, and fidelity to, the treaties.”

This action will follow an information picket at the Irving gas station on Quinpool Road from 8am until 9am.   “Irving is providing a lot of support for SWN Resources, including private security through the Irving-owned company Industrial Security Limited”, says Katerina Stein who will be handing out pamphlets asking drivers not to gas up at Irving.  “There is huge public opposition to fracking in New Brunswick.  Without Irving’s support, SWN wouldn’t be able to do its work.  They also have their own interests in profiting off the processing and distribution of fracked shale gas. We think people need to know that.”

The Halifax Coalition Against Fracking is calling for:

• An immediate halt to all fracking-related activity in Atlantic Canada
• That all charges against anti-fracking protesters in New Brunswick be dropped
• The immediate repeal of the New Brunswick court injunction that criminalizes protest and suspends civil liberties, enabling the Texas-based fracking corporation SWN to conduct seismic testing on unceded Mi'Kmaq land in the province
• The government of New Brunswick to abide by the Peace and Friendship Treaties and respect Indigenous sovereignty

The Halifax Coalition Against Fracking is made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups and individuals.  They seek to draw attention to the dangers of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and issues of Indigenous rights and environmental justice.

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