The Alton Gas project is an example of the profit-at-all-costs mentality of our current economy. Mi’kmaq rights holders have never given their consent for this project, and have led the sustained effort to stop it for six years. The lack of Indigenous consent and a list of well-documented dangers has fuelled an effective resistance to this project. Alton Gas is a fossil fuel storage project that would expand the network of natural gas infrastructure in Atlantic Canada precisely at the time we need to ramp down all fossil fuel use. And yet, this project is barreling forward.
The Council of Canadians helped release new documents, obtained thanks to the tireless work of grassroots researchers, that show the federal government knows this project would break the law and harm the fish in the river. Rather than challenge the company to meet the standard of the law, the federal government has chosen to pursue new regulations under the Fisheries Act to accommodate AltaGas, the corporation behind the project.
We see the notice of intent as an acknowledgement that the project as it stands right now is not in alignment with the Fisheries Act, and in order for it to be compliant with the law, the federal government has chosen to change the law rather than hold the company accountable.