Health news: Advocates call on N.B. fracking ban

A group of health-care professionals is warning evidence from a national study shows shale gas extraction is a risk to human health.

The Canadian Journal of Public Health released a study in March stating growing medical evidence that fracking can lead to serious health issues such as birth defects, childhood cancers, asthma and heart disease.

NB Lung president and CEO Melanie Langille said the idea of developing the industry in New Brunswick is very concerning.

“Not only from an increase in air pollution from the use of those fossil fuels but the significant health risks on the workers and people living in the communities where this oil can be extracted,” said Langille. “It’s very alarming for health advocates who have been saying for years that there’s significant health risks of this industry”.

A moratorium on shale gas development in New Brunswick was put in place in 2014.

The Liberal Government introduced the fracking ban a year after violent demonstrations took place in Rexton near the First Nations community of Elsipogtog in 2013.

A partial ban was lifted for the Sussex area in 2018 and now health-care advocates warn it could be widened due to recent comments from Premier Blaine Higgs.

De-Ann Sheppard, Atlantic regional representative for the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment, said the health of New Brunswick residents depends on a transition from fossil fuels.

“To be honest, I actually thought that [fracking] was completely off the table because when it was brought forward before there was so much evidence. Not just to the impact of the health-care system but the ecological impact that radiates out from that,” said Sheppard.

Sheppard said she truly believes the average Atlantic Canadian thought fracking was off the table.

“Because it was such a contentious issue,” said Sheppard.

Retired family doctor Renée Turcotte, who’s also the chair of the New Brunswick chapter of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, believes the health-care system is already under considerable strain and re-introducing natural gas development could make it even worse.

“Why add something that we know now that causes human health problems?” asked Turcotte. “We should keep the moratorium and ban fracking once and for all because now we know more. Even if we do more studies, we might do more studies, it would be good to have more studies in Canada. But we want to have a permanent ban on fracking.”

Sheppard said First Nations communities tend to be more impacted when it comes to environmental issues like fracking.

“We know for a fact fracking introduces multiple chemicals into the water system and it releases and contaminates both the air and the water,” said Sheppard.

Higgs has gone on the record before saying he doesn’t believe shale gas development is harmful to the environment and natural gas development is being carried out in other parts of country.

CTV News asked for the premier or the minister of natural resources to comment at the legislature on Thursday, but were told they were not available.

The group of health-care advocates has sent Higgs and all of the provincial MLAs a letter detailing the latest findings on health issues fracking may cause and they are calling for government legislate to permanent ban it in New Brunswick.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.