Fracking (Hydraulic Fracturing) is the process of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep inside the earth. Fracking is a recent technology advancement in the oil and gas industry, but has come under a lot of fire in New Brunswick and other eastern provinces. Fracking has been discouraged by environmentalists because they believe it is not environmentally safe. Some say that if the process of fracking is not executed in a proper way, it can cause pollution and damage to our environment. So why is New Brunswick considering opening fracking plants like Aberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan have? It’s because the outcomes from the previous Countries and provinces have been extremely successful. “In Canada, more than 200,000 wells have been fractured in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan with a similarly sterling record”. Therefore, New Brunswick allowing fracking would be an extremely large step in reducing their unemployment rate. Currently New Brunswick has the third largest UR in Canada at 10.0.
If New Brunswick allowed fracking, it would stimulate other provinces to follow suit such as Nova Scotia and Quebec. It would put money back into the economy and allow more independence for these eastern provinces. This means that they would stop collecting money from Canada’s equalization program and instead, contribute more to the overall betterment of the Canadian economy as a whole.
Other Links:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/fracking-opponents-should-stop-biting-the-hand-that-feeds/article20937977/
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14432401
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-unemployment-rate-back-to-double-digits-1.2737387