Danielle Rochette
APTN National News
Eighteen organizations spread out over four provinces are banding together and calling on the federal government to stop any kind of oil exploration work in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The group sent a letter Tuesday to Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea and Minister of Environment Leona Aglukkaq.
“As fisheries representatives active in all parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we are writing to inform you that we will oppose any petroleum development in the Gulf of St. Lawrence without prior consultation and a thorough understanding of the impacts to our seafood industry,” the letter states.
It’s not clear who penned the letter.
The Nutewistoq M’igmawei Mawiomi Secretariat is one of the organizations that is part of the coalition.
The group pointed out that the process that will allow companies to explore for oil, will also allow them to circumvent the environmental or consultation process.
“Given that exploratory drilling has been downgraded to a simple ‘screening exercise,’ which does not necessitate consultation with existing users, we demand that the Old Harry prospect be put to a full review panel as is warranted by public concern under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act” the letter states.
A Mi’kmaq group out of Quebec is already lobbying the Quebec government to put in place a 12-year moratorium on exploration work in the Gulf.
See story here: Nations band together to fight future oil exploration in Gulf of Saint Lawrence
There is also a coalition made up of environmental groups and First Nation communities fighting any kind of oil work.
They’re concerned that thousands of fisheries and tourism jobs will be at stake if there is a spill in the Gulf.
“We would also like to remind the federal government that the Gulf of St. Lawrence is a common body of water and that spills occurring in one area cannot be contained by provincial delineations,” they say in the letter.
The Gulf waters touch five provinces, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
