Two organizations are looking to municipal governments for support in protecting the province’s offshore in the event of an oil or gas spill.
Representatives of the Clean Ocean Action Committee COAC) and the Campaign To Protect Offshore Nova Scotia CPONS) made presentations to Argyle municipal council last Thursday.
Both asked for support for their calls for a public inquiry into offshore exploration.
Nathan Blades, a member COAC says the regulatory regime for oil and gas production in Nova Scotia’s offshore is grossly insufficient to protect the marine environment and the seafood industry from a disaster.
“My experience with their safety culture is that everything is good until something goes massively wrong. When something goes massively wrong, it’s too late. You can’t put it back. When we talk about previous incidents like Deep Water Horizon. The Deep Water Horizon oil rig was the best and had the newest technology at the time. It wasn’t supposed to happen. But it happened.”
He also has problems with the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB).
“The offshore petroleum members are not elected. They’re appointed and predominantly they are long-time oil and gas industry participants, stakeholders and people who have made their careers in the oil and gas industry. There’s nobody on the CNSOPB to stand up for the interests of the seafood industry or the tourism industry or the people of Nova Scotia.”
Marilyn Keddy of the CPONS spoke to Acadia News about the need for a federal inquiry.
“Our federal and provincial politicians have been very unresponsive in terms of addressing, even discussing with us and other groups, the issue of protecting the offshore. All the research needs to be looked at. The regulatory board (CNSOPB) is dominated by oil industry veterans and they make their decisions based on research that’s supported by the oil and gas industry. That’s not good enough. It’s just not good enough.”
Argyle council voted unanimously to write a letter of support to the groups.
