M-90 National ban on gas fracking

That:

(a) the House recognize that,

(i) Canada has committed to doing its part to meet the global goal of limiting average global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius,

(ii) the climate crisis requires action on the part of all levels of government and industry,

(iii) natural gas is a fossil fuel primarily composed of methane,

(iv) extracting natural gas through hydraulic fracking releases methane into the atmosphere,

(v) for the first 20 years after it is released methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas,

(vi) a recent study by Environment Canada researchers found that methane emissions from oil and gas operations in Western Canada were almost twice as high as previously thought,

(vii) enormous amounts of freshwater are consumed in the fracking process,

(viii) leaks of fracking fluid and poor management of fracking wastewater have resulted in widespread groundwater contamination,

(ix) from at least as far back as 2016, the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission has been aware that wastewater from fracking can contain hazardous levels of radioactive materials, and yet regulators do not require companies to test for radioactivity or to report test results,

(x) scientific studies have linked hydraulic gas fracking to increased risks of asthma, birth defects and cancer,

(xi) fracking operations are mostly happening in remote areas where they have a disproportionately negative impact on Indigenous communities and on unceded Indigenous territories, and these operations have often not obtained free, prior and informed consent from the affected Indigenous communities, disregarding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,

(xii) fracking operations have been linked to increased earthquakes in areas where fracking occurs,

(xiii) due to these devastating environmental and health concerns, many jurisdictions around the world have either placed temporary moratoriums on hydraulic gas fracking or banned it outright, including France, Germany, Bulgaria, Ireland, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Tunisia, New York State, and Vermont State,

(xiv) many jurisdictions are banning the installation of natural gas heating and appliances in new construction because of the danger to the climate posed by the release of methane into the atmosphere,

(xv) fracking is incompatible with national policy goals aimed at lowering carbon emissions, combating climate change, protecting freshwater, maintaining a healthy environment and respecting Indigenous sovereignty, rights and title; and

(b) in the opinion of the House, the government should ban hydraulic gas fracking in Canada, guarantee a just transition for workers in the fracking industry, and accelerate our transition to renewable energy.