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Come Listen to the Man Fracking Powers Tried to Silence
Come Listen to the Man Fracking Powers Tried to Silence
Why you should spend Thursday, Jan. 28, with Andrew Nikiforuk. A special Tyee event.
On Jan. 28, Andrew Nikiforuk has some knowledge to share.
On Jan. 28, in Vancouver, you have the opportunity to spend an evening with Andrew Nikiforuk, one the finest journalists, one of the finest minds, one the most courageous and public spirited people I have ever met.
If you are a regular reader of The Tyee you probably recognize Andrew’s byline. But you may not know of his new book on fracking in Canada with a fascinating, real-life hero at the centre of it.
You also may not know how hostile a place Canada can be for a journalist as effective as Andrew Nikiforuk.
And before you buy a ticket for the “Standing up to Fracking” Jan. 28 event, you’d probably like to know more about what will be discussed.
So I thought I’d quickly fill you in on all that here.
Andrew first met Alberta landowner and oil patch consultant Jessica Ernst in 2004 while reporting for the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business on “unconventional” energy sources — like fracked gas. It wasn’t until the next year that the harm fracking can do became personal for Ernst. She’d discovered groundwater contamination on her own land 113 kilometres northeast of Calgary, and Andrew returned to write about that for Canadian Business.
He couldn’t believe the level of fraud she had documented or how the Alberta Energy Regulator had banished all communication from her to thwart her efforts. In fact her story about pollution eerily previewed the trouble and controversy fracking would later cause across the continent.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Landmark Fracking Case Gets a Supreme Court Hearing
Landmark Fracking Case Gets a Supreme Court Hearing
Oil patch consultant Jessica Ernst alleges Alberta has intimidated landowners.
The Supreme Court of Canada said today that it will hear thelandmark case of Jessica Ernst, which squarely challenges how the Alberta government has treated landowners and regulated hydraulic fracturing.
The decision both stunned and exhilarated the 57-year-old Ernst.
“I’ve always known my case was important for water and all Canadians, that’s why I am taking this legal stand,” said Ernst who lives in Rosebud, Alberta.
“The court will now hear my appeal that provincial energy regulators not be legally immune from violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when trying to intimidate citizens harmed by fracking,” added Ernst. Her stand against the industry and the Alberta government has made her a folk hero throughout North America and parts of Europe.
However, a win at the Supreme Court does not mean that she will win her lawsuit, explained Ernst to the Tyee. “It means I would be sent back to the lower court in Alberta to begin my lawsuit against the Alberta Energy Regulator. It means still a very long, hard, expensive journey.”
The Supreme Court only hears about four per cent of all civil Charter claims brought to its doorstep.
Eight years ago, oil patch consultant Ernst sued Alberta Environment, the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) and Encana, one of Canada’s largest unconventional gas drillers, over the contamination of her well water with hydrocarbons and the failure of government authorities to properly investigate the fouling of groundwater.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
