Cumberland municipal council is not saying yes to a proposal by the provincial government to remove barriers to resource development in Nova Scotia, but it’s not saying no either.
In response to a letter from Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr urging municipalities to signal their support for greater resource development, Mayor Rod Gilroy said it’s not lost on the municipality that the Cumberland Basin is home is home to significant oil and gas potential and that exploration and extraction of these resources could potentially have a significant economic impact on the municipality, the province and even the region.
“While it is certainly true that the current global trade environment makes it more important than ever to explore and implement policies that make our province more self-reliant, and that resource development has the potential to contribute to that state of self-reliance, Cumberland Municipal Council is of the opinion that resource development cannot take an "at all costs" approach,” the mayor said.
“To be fair, there are those in our region who say, ‘go ahead’, encourage all development of these resources. There are many in our region though who have expressed serious safety concerns and concerns around water supply impacts regarding fracking. There are also concerns about impacts on nature and the natural beauty of our region.”
With that potential and those concerns as a background, the mayor said council is not of the opinion that it should say an unqualified ‘yes’ to any, all and every project and opportunity for resource exploration and extraction.
“Rather, Council is of the view that, when specific potential projects are within its regulatory purview to render a decision, or to express favour or distain, it should do so on a case-by-case basis,” the mayor said.
