No Means No; Overwhelming majority of people speaking to Yukon frac committee are against fracking; Go Home Synergy Alberta and take your “experts,” tricks and industry lies with you

Yukon fracking committee hears an overwhelming ‘No,’ Overwhelming majority of people speaking to the committee are against fracking by Philippe Morin, July 23, 2014, CBC News
A six-person, all-party committee of MLAs held two days of public hearings on fracking in the Yukon legislature this May before launching a territory-wide tour. So far 108 people in nine Yukon communities have spoken to the committee on fracking, and the overwhelming majority is against it.

Read the full transcripts from the Yukon fracking committee

At least two of the comments came from people who have worked in the oil and gas industry.

Bonnee Bingham from Old Crow said she’s worked in Alberta hauling water to a fracking site.

“Working on the rigs, I can tell you it would take me a whole day of constant hauling water just for one frack job,” she told the committee. “That water is contaminated and unusable afterward. That’s a big concern.”

In Teslin, Doug Martens was one of many to speak up for the environment. “I think if you were to ask the question, ‘What is the most valuable resource the Yukon has?’ I would suggest that water is one of the most valuable assets the Yukon has.”

In Ross River, Dennis Shorty spoke in Kaska with a translator.  “The elders told us,” Shorty said. “They said, ‘Don’t sell your land. Take care of it and take care of all the animals, not only for yourselves, but for the next generation.’”

Cynicism about consultations
A recurring theme in the transcripts is cynicism about consultations.

Some don’t think it’s going to amount to much. “It seems to me that public opinion is not for support of any type of hydraulic fracturing in the Yukon,” says Eric Fairclough, chief of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation. … Fairclough pointed to the Peel watershed case, where the government moved ahead with its own plan against the advice of the planning commission that sought public input.

“In my view, when the Yukon Party government does not like public opinions, they throw these things into committees for committees to deal with. You’ll find these committees going into the communities to hear the people out but I don’t think that, in the end, the Yukon government decision would even follow the Committee’s rules.”

Many First Nations have opposed fracking. Last year the Council of Yukon First Nations passed a resolution against it.

Chief Brian Ladue of Ross River Dena Council put it bluntly.

“So you’ve heard it loud and clear from Ross River — from the chief, the council: No means no.”

The committee is still planning to hold hearings in Haines Junction and Carcross/Tagish.

It’s scheduled to deliver its report to the legislature this fall. [Emphasis added]

[Refer also to:

Is the Yukon Government setting up a fracked territory? ]

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