“My home is heated by natural gas. Most of our homes are heated by natural gas in B.C. That natural gas comes from the northeast, for the most part, and it is pulled up from the ground using hydraulic fracturing.”
The New Democrats chose the word “robust” in reporting this week on how a scientific panel had characterized B.C.’s regulatory framework on fracking in the natural gas sector.
As in: “An independent scientific review of hydraulic fracturing in B.C. has found the regulatory framework to be robust, while also identifying areas for improvement.”
The claim brought a vigorous response from the environmental watchdog Wilderness Committee.
“Robust, my rear-end!” protested climate campaigner Peter McCartney. “How the ministry can characterize this report as anything but a scathing indictment of their failure to oversee this industry is beyond me.”
The three scientists on the government-appointed panel did not go quite that far in their review of the process whereby pressurized water is used to fracture shale rock, releasing the natural gas trapped within.
Vaughn Palmer – Vancouver Sun – March 21, 2019.
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