Offshore Alliance calling for moratorium pending public inquiry

A coalition of more than 20 Atlantic Canadian and Quebec community, environmental, Indigenous, fishery and non-governmental organizations known as the Offshore Alliance is calling for a moratorium on offshore drilling pending a full federal/provincial public inquiry.

The call came just days before the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) approved the recommencement of BP Canada exploratory drilling operations in the Scotian Basin on July 22. Drilling operations were shut down on June 22 after an unauthorized drilling mud spill. The cause was determined to be a loose connection in the mud booster line.

“The BP drilling mud spill on June 22 only underlines the recklessness of continuing without a full public inquiry,” said John Davis, Director of the Clean Ocean Action Committee (COAC), in a July 18 press release. “The last public inquiry to seriously engage the public was the federal/provincial Georges Bank Review Panel more than two decades ago. Thanks to its work we have a permanent moratorium on drilling on the Canadian side of Georges. Given the massive threat to our fishery and tourism industries, indeed the very economic base of much of the province, we can’t afford anything less.”

While Nova Scotia created an independent panel on fracking onshore, it has never had a parallel study of oil exploration and drilling offshore. The Offshore Alliance says it’s time to correct that gap in public knowledge, and the current regulatory regime in the offshore lacks both scientific and demo- cratic legitimacy. “Nova Scotians have been kept in the dark about the impact and risks of deep water exploration and drilling for oil in our offshore,” said Peter Puxley, a founding member of Campaign to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia (CPONS). “A thorough and credible investigation by a panel of experts is the only way to rectify this. The panel’s recommendations must be based on the best science available and broad and informed public participation.”

The Offshore Alliance has sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil and relevant cabinet ministers, calling for the public inquiry to take place immediately.