Fracking is tantamount to breaking the bones of Mother Earth.
Caleb Behn, Indigenous lawyer and Eh-Cho Dene and Dunne Za/Cree from Treaty 8 Territory in Northeastern BC
Hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) involves injecting water, sand and chemicals deep underground at high pressure to fracture rocks containing natural gas or oil. Fracking raises significant social and ecological justice concerns related to the rights of Indigenous peoples, public health, air and water contamination, groundwater depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, and the triggering of seismic activity.
Fracking projects have been initiated on the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples in New Brunswick, British Columbia and in other jurisdictions often without their free, prior and informed consent as required by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. In considering the economic, social and environmental costs, some jurisdictions in Canada, including Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have instituted bans or moratoria on fracking.
KAIROS Canada’s concern for defending the rights of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities affected by fracking was heightened by the October 17, 2013 police raid on a peaceful blockade by members of the Elsipogtog First Nation and their allies protesting against exploratory seismic testing in search of shale gas on their territory.
In 2015, KAIROS hosted Fracking Forums in Vancouver, B.C. and Moncton, N.B. to raise the profile of the social, ecological, and human rights concerns of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities associated with fracking operations across Canada. The forums facilitated action at a regional and national level.
Learn More:
- Watch KAIROS’ animated primer on the Pros and Cons of Fracking and the speeches and presentations from the 2015 Fracking Forum
- Read the KAIROS Discussion Paper: Ethical Reflections on Fracking [Extrait disponible en français: Réflexions éthiques sur la fracturation]
- Posters and Pamphlets on Fracking and LNG
- Learn more about where fracking is happening in Canada through the Council of Canadians’ Fracker Tracker
Banner Photo: Christopher Czermak – Unsplash
