NDP calls for consultation before surprise removal of resource bans

HALIFAX –Nova Scotia’s New Democrats are calling for an immediate pause on the Houston government’s plans to lift bans on uranium mining and fracking until meaningful consultation has taken place. On Monday, NSNDP Leader Claudia Chender was joined by members of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment who expressed concerns about the potentially negative impacts on Nova Scotians’ health.

“Nova Scotians are worried about a trade war and looking for a better health-care system, truly affordable homes, and a good life for their families – yet they’ve seen a very different agenda from the Houston Conservatives,” said NSNDP Leader Claudia Chender. “A mandate to fix health care and build affordable housing is not a mandate to begin fracking or mining uranium.”

The Houston government’s plan to lift these long-standing bans is part of the Conservatives’ ongoing pattern of rushing ahead with legislation that Nova Scotians didn’t ask, nor vote for.

These include attempts to undermine the Auditor General and Privacy Commissioner, policies that let them fire public servants without cause and intrude upon the autonomy of our province’s universities and municipalities, and restricting non-partisan information for Nova Scotians – all while blatantly disregarding public consultation and expert advice.

“We have heard from Nova Scotians who are gravely concerned about the impact of lifting these bans on natural resource exploitation – from the potential health impacts, to what this means for our drinking water and other natural resources,” said Chender.

“No government has the right to jeopardize our health, our environment, or the well-being of our long-standing sectors. No government has the right to push their own agenda. They are elected to serve the will of Nova Scotians. It can never be the other way around.”

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