There are credible experts who believe that, with proper regulation and enforcement, it is possible to have a trustworthy fracking industry. They also say this does not yet exist in North America. Personally, I think the industry is out of control and BC’s government is desperate to get in bed with it. Last week the government released a report from Ernst & Young (EY) which the Minister of Natural Gas Development says “British Columbians can have confidence they are benefiting from a clean, well regulated natural gas industry.” Does Ernst & Young’s LNG report vindicate BC?
During the thirty years prior to the lawsuit, Ernst was a consultant working in the oil and gas sector. She performed like environmental impact assessments, environmental protection plans and recommended mitigation. Encana was one of her customers. Jessica Ernst doesn’t get paid work anymore. Seven years ago she sued against Encana, Alberta Environment and the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB). The case has yet to go beyond the question of whether an Albertan citizen can sue government agencies. When Judge Neil Whittmann ruled the case can proceed, last November, he said (paragraph 56) “there is a reasonable prospect Ernst will succeed in establishing that Alberta owed her a primae facie duty of care.” Did Albertan regulators act in bad faith?
