FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2018
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs have just been notified that yesterday BP Canada Energy Group (BP Canada) had a leak of drilling fluid on their West Aquarius Drilling Union off the shores of Nova Scotia.
The Assembly is extremely concerned about the protection of the lands and waters, as well any species that could potentially have been affected.
“We want answers from BP Canada,” said Chief Terrance Paul, Fisheries Lead for the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs. “We want to know how this could happen, what affect it could potentially have on our fisheries and what they are going to do to address that. Incidents like this are unacceptable in Mi’kma’ki.”
Spills and environmental damage have been constant concerns of the Assembly and the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia with drilling projects happening off our shores. The Assembly consistently advocates for environmental and resource protections to be put in place with any project happening in our region.
The Assembly will be seeking clarification on why those protections failed and if BP can ensure us that it will not happen again. The Assembly is demanding that work be halted on the West Aquarius Drilling Unit until their questions and concerns are answered.
The Assembly expects that BP Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia are taking immediate action to see a safe and successful clean-up of the area as well as putting safeguards in place to ensure no further damage. The Assembly also calls on the Canadian Offshore Petroleum Board and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as regulators of
this project, to investigate this matter immediately.