Big Oil and gas corporations have come to town again, acting like they are doing us a big favour by proposing energy projects in our communities — gas and diesel power plants, fracking, and liquefied natural gas.
We’ve heard this story before: a big company comes from outside of Canada, extracts our natural resources, pays very small royalties, and leaves us with a big mess that taxpayers have to pay to clean up.
It’s time for Atlantic Canada to have an energy industry that is by us, and for us.
What we’re up against:
New gas plants in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. More diesel in PEI. And fracking everywhere they can drill a well. And we don’t need any of it.
We already have a strong renewable energy industry, and could have a huge boost in jobs and other community benefits through offshore wind development. We can ensure our communities come out on top of this growing industry by pushing for local manufacturing, local jobs, and community benefit agreements from renewable developers.
Here’s what’s at stake:
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Affordable energy: Our power bills are out of control - building gas and diesel plants just keeps us buying fossil fuel at volatile prices for 20+ years.
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Extracting our wealth: American gas corporations are thinking about keeping profits flowing south of the border, not our communities’ best interest.
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Risking our health: The pollution from gas and diesel projects pollutes our air and water — disrupting our health and the places we love.
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Democratic process: American energy corporations are pushing our governments around, and working to change our energy policies, including existing bans on fracking, changing our clean air and clean water regulations, and extending our dependence on U.S. energy.