Please help raise a proper Legal Fund to Stop Alton Gas from destroying the Shubenacadie River! Mi’kmaq water protectors have the strongest rights to a clean river, but legal campaigns are expensive. Please help protect the water for all living beings and future generations.
Grassroots Grandmothers, Mi’kmaw Rights Holders and our many allies need your help. We continue to stand united as water protectors of the Shubenacadie River in the Sipekne’katik District of Mi’kma’ki.
For almost three years, water protectors have held a continuous presence along the Shubenacadie River, where Alton Gas intends to dump salt brine equivalent to 3000 tonnes of hard salt every day. This is part of Alton’s plan to create underground salt caverns for high-pressure natural gas storage.
Despite the fact that this project is in violation of the Fisheries Act and has not consulted local First Nations, the Nova Scotia Minister of the Environment, the Utilities and Review Board, and the Nova Scotia Supreme Court has refused to revoke Alton’s permits. Instead, the Federal government announced they will be creating new regulations that will specially accommodate the Alton Gas Project.
More recently, the court has granted a temporary injunction ordering the removal of water protectors from their post at the gate of Alton’s work site. These water protectors now need to raise legal funds to assert their inherent rights and title to stop the pollution of the Shubenacadie River. Historically, that river has been a lifeline to our people- its provided sustenance and was very much a superhighway for trade and travel throughout the territory. No Crown grant has ever been issued on this river and its lands. Such a case is complex in nature and requires special considerations to treaty and title. The company has access to unlimited resources while we have relied on the generous donations of people like you who care about the climate crisis, indigenous rights, the environment, fish, and the irreparable harm this project would cause.
