BP Spill a wake up call to coastal landowners in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

PICTOU COUNTY - As Canadians watch the horrifying footage of the devastation occurring in the Gulf of Mexico, we turn our eyes to our own shores and the need to prevent such a tragedy here.  The Green Party of Canada has joined forces with the powerful Save Our Seas and Shores Coalition (SOS) in calling for a moratorium on oil and gas development in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

A similar call was made last week by the PEI Fishermen's Association, with concerns echoed by PEI’s Environment Minister, Richard Brown.  "We'd like to see the same leadership and respect for our livelihoods and historic coastal communities with a call for a moratorium from other provinces and our federal government as PEI has," said Greg Egilsson of the Gulf NS Herring Federation.  The Obama administration has put a moratorium on deep-water drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico after the stunningly destructive oil spill that has been affecting the area for thirteen weeks. "There's a moratorium on Georges, a moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico; why is there no moratorium in the Gulf of St. Lawrence?" said Egilsson.

“Shoreline landowners in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Quebec should be very concerned with the evidence that we are seeing that the oil and gas industry is sorely unprepared to deal with spills.  They have proven that they don’t know how to prevent a spill, they don’t know how to stop a spill, and they don’t know how to clean up a spill,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May.

An oil exploration lease has been issued to Corridor Resources next to the Iles de la Madeleines in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in what is considered the most productive marine region in Canada. Seismic is planned for this fall with drilling foreseen by 2012. Scientists have been calling for a moratorium in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for almost 40 years. Because of the Gulf's counter-clockwise circulatory currents, if there is an oil spill from this proposed deepwater oil well site, contamination of the shorelines and coastal communities in PQ, NS, NB and PEI is certain, putting a 300 million dollar fishery and 20,000 jobs in NS, NB and PEI alone at risk.

“It only takes one well and if we allow them into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it is not a matter of whether it will happen but when,” said May. “Our tourism industry, our quality of life, our fisheries are all at risk. Already, the oil from the Gulf of Mexico is within reach of our shorelines and coastal communities and landowners need to realize that the threat is not down south, but it is also right here at home. Canadians need to stand up and protect what we have for our children before it is too late.”

Contact Information:
Debra Eindiguer
Press Secretary
C: 613.240.8921
media@greenparty.ca