Mi'kmaw chiefs reject fracking in Nova Scotia

CBC

28-03-2025

Days after Premier Tim Houston's government passed legislation that lifts the provincial moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for onshore natural gas, Mi'kmaw leaders in Nova Scotia are making their position clear and threatening legal action.
"The Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs continue to remain opposed to hydraulic fracturing and will not see it happen in our unceded and traditional territory," reads a letter to the premier that is signed by the 13 chiefs who comprise the assembly.
The letter was posted on social media Thursday night.
On Friday, the assembly released a statement saying that they are looking into filing an injunction into the province's law-making process on fracking and uranium mining because the government is making decisions "about the lands and waters in the unceded and traditional territory of the Mi'kmaq, without any real consideration of the rights holders."
"Environmental racism is a real thing," Chief Michelle Glasgow is quoted as saying in the release.
"The Province of Nova Scotia and Premier Houston are making decisions and moving at a speed that appears rooted in racist and colonial practices. They continue to marginalize the voices, position and concerns of the Mi'kmaq."
New direction for government
The chiefs have been at odds with Houston and his government since a recent policy shift by the Progressive Conservatives that focuses on the development of the province's natural resources.
When Houston announced the new direction in January, he said the province needs to develop its natural resources to make Nova Scotia more financially self-sufficient at a time when Canada faces the threat of tariffs from the United States government.
In announcing the shift, Houston said his government was taking on unnamed special interests and professional protesters whom he accused of pressuring previous governments and holding back the province's economic development potential.
The premier was after a letter from the assembly reminding him of the legal requirement for First Nations consultation.
Houston heard from the assembly about the need for consultation again following the introduction of Bill 6, the legislation that lifts the fracking moratorium and ban on uranium exploration and mining.
That prompted a meeting with the premier, L'nu Affairs Minister Leah Martin and the chiefs.
Interest from industry
On Tuesday at Province House, Houston told reporters that the meeting he and Martin had with the chiefs was "productive."
The government needs to "continue to have a discussion with [the chiefs] and involve them and share more information with them as things go forward," the premier said.
In its statement Friday, assembly members said they were speaking out to dispel any notion that they were "properly consulted and/or on board with these recent provincial decisions."
"These implications are inaccurate and skirt the truth about how discussions with the Mi'kmaq are really going."
The Progressive Conservatives pushed ahead with Bill 6 unamended despite the concerns of the chiefs and members of the public who made written submissions and in-person presentations to the legislature's public bills committee.
Although there was industry support for uranium exploration and mining during that committee meeting, there were no supportive presentations for fracking.
Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau later told reporters that officials in his department are aware of companies with interest in the legislative changes happening in Nova Scotia. Boudreau said lifting the fracking moratorium is "an opportunity for us to look at what is the art of the possible."
"A hundred per cent of our natural gas either comes from or flows through the United States," he said.
'It's time to have the discussion'
Earlier this week, the premier acknowledged the pushback the plan to lift the fracking moratorium has received. He and Boudreau have been steadfast that no project would be approved without a rigorous environmental assessment that shows it can happen without compromising environmental or human health.
"It's OK for Nova Scotians to have a bit of nervousness about a change in having these discussions," said Houston.
"That's OK. I share that. That's why we know that we'll have an effective process going forward, but it's time to have the discussion on the development of our natural resources. For the most part, I think Nova Scotians are on board with that."