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Fracking Bans in Quebec and New York Should Give B.C. Premier Christy Clark Pause

Two big blows to the natural gas industry have come in less than 24 hours, with both the province of Quebec and New York state effectively banning shale gas extraction over concerns with the process of hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. "fracking"). 

Fracking allows for the cheap extraction of natural gas from shale deposits that were previously inaccessible, and it is responsible for both the boom in natural gas production as well as the correlate controversy. 

Citing public health and environmental concerns, Quebec Premier Phillipe Couillard announced yesterday that there would be no shale gas development in his province. The day prior Quebec's environmental review board released a report finding that there are "too many potential negative consequences to the environment and to society from extracting natural gas from shale rock deposits along the St. Lawrence River."

Today New York State made a similar move imposing an outright ban on fracking.

“I cannot support high volume hydraulic fracturing in the great state of New York,” said Howard Zucker, the acting commissioner of health.

Other jurisdictions in Canada have fully embraced fracking and natural gas extraction, most notably British Columbia, where Premier Christy Clark has put much of her political capital on the expansion of the natural gas industry in the province's northeastern region and the proposed expansion of LNG (liquified natural gas) export facilities along the coast.

There remain big questions about whether the expected natural gas boom will ever happen in British Columbia, and the Clark government is likely watching closely these latest moves by Quebec and New York.

In a province like British Columbia, where the populace has been very wary of new energy projects, Clark's natural gas boom might be a political bust.

Image Credit: USOGA via Twitter

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Threats to our environment are often hidden from public view.
So we embarked on a little experiment at The Narwhal: letting our investigative journalists loose to file as many freedom of information requests as their hearts desired.

In just six months, they filed a whopping 233 requests — and with those, they unearthed a veritable mountain of government documents to share with readers across Canada.

But the reality is this kind of digging takes lots of time and no small amount of money.

As many newsrooms cut staff, The Narwhal has doubled down on hiring reporters to do hard-hitting journalism — and we do it all as an independent, non-profit news organization that doesn’t run any advertising.

Will you join the growing chorus of readers who have stepped up to hold the powerful accountable?

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As The Narwhal turns five, I’m thinking about the momentous outpouring of public generosity — a miracle of sorts — that’s allowed us to prove the critics wrong. More than 6,000 people just like you donate whatever they can afford to make independent, high-stakes journalism about the natural world in Canada free for everyone to read. Help us keep the dream alive for another five years by becoming a member today and we’ll mail you a copy of our beautiful 2023 print magazine. — Carol Linnitt, co-founder
Keep the dream alive.