In a recent letter Sipekne’katik makes a strong case to the UARB about its historic claims on the Alton Gas site and why the UARB rather than the department of Environment should make a decision on the issue of Indigenous consultation with the band.
The mostly Black residents of the Town of Shelburne’s South End community continue to worry about water and they continue to worry about their health. “It’s still affecting the Black community, and it’s still environmental racism,” says Louise Delisle, who’s been fighting for change for a very long time..
We speak with water protector Dale Poulette on the Alton Gas injunction and the surprising announcement by Environment and Climate Change Canada that the department is initiating the development of proposed regulations to govern the deposit of brine.
Raymond Sheppard: “It is African Heritage Month. Our struggles continue, yet now it is time to celebrate our glorious history. It is also time for the government of Nova Scotia to step up to the plate and do the right thing as it pertains to African Nova Scotians.”
John Collins on Premier Stephen MacNeil’s response to a letter from the three Pictou MLAs: “I actually commend you for the courage and determination to stand up for what’s right and sticking to the legislated closure as implemented by your government in the ‘Boat Harbour Act’. For the mill to even promote a continuance of this level of environmental racism by asking for an extension is an insult to Pictou Landing First Nations, and First Nations Peoples in general.”
Late last year Alton Gas applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) for a renewal of its approval to construct an underground hydrocarbons storage facility. As part of the NSUARB review interested parties were asked for submissions. This is the submission of Dale Andrew Poulette, Mi’kmaq water protector.
Congrats to Louise Delisle and the South End Environmental Injustice Society (SEED)! I learned a lot about activism and rural Nova Scotia from listening to them. We posted this same news release yesterday, but with a photo that is no longer current. We are reposting with a current photo of Louise and her fellow SEED members, with apologies.
In 1965, prior to the construction of the Boat Harbour treatment facility, the Nova Scotia Water Authority, representing the provincial government, assured upset members of the Pictou Landing First Nation that the lagoon would remain suitable for boating, and even that fresh-water fish could be introduced. The only time there would be a bit of a smell would be in spring as the ice in the lagoon was breaking up, community members were told.
After talking with with civil servants at Environment and Climate Change Canada, local water protectors believe.that Alton Gas doesn’t have the necessary approvals to start the release of brine into the Shubenacadie River. We asked the feds and the province what’s up, and their responses were pretty vague.
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has turned down an application to create a class-action lawsuit on behalf of former Africville residents and their descendants. That’s as good an opportunity as any to get Halifax Councillors to step up and do the right thing. Compensation for former Africville residents and their descendants is not an issue that should be decided based on legal subtleties.