by Murray Bush / Vancouver Media Co-op
Activists set up a “fracking rig” on BC Premier Christy Clark’s front lawn in Vancouver this morning. The premier was at home, but declined an invitation from the activists to join them to “celebrate her efforts to promote more hydrolic fracturing in BC” and sign away her water rights.
The activists tossed around bags of money and bottles of “wastewater.” Once police showed up they moved the mock rig to the front sidewalk.
“Because the premier loves fracking, we figured we would save her the hassle of trying to take over other peoples’ homes and bring it right to her,” said Jacquelyn Fraser, an activist with Rising Tide.
“We are just so worried about all the water that is being used and polluted in northeastern B.C. for fracking. We are sure Premier Clark is too and we’re sure she can share some of her own supply so that she can see the boom in the industry she keeps promoting,” says Fraser as ‘construction workers’ set up the rig behind her. “She may not end up with a lot of fresh water at the end, but at least she has some we could use right now.”
Rising Tide recently toured communities to talk about the impacts of fracking. Families said that shortly after fracking began they were no longer able to drink their tap water and that the water burned their children’s skin.
Clark is scheduled to meet with Alberta premier Alison Redford to discuss fracking and pipelines on Tuesday in Vancouver.
