Acadian group launches campaign against fossil-fuel projects

A new francophone coalition has launched in New Brunswick with the goal of bringing Acadian perspectives to the fossil fuel discussion. L'Acadie non au gaz had its first event on Thursday morning. So we want to bring the voice of the Acadian community to the debate when it comes to fossil energy here in our province, on our territory. So we announced three big objectives for our coalition. The first one is to occupy the debate in French, to make sure that Acadian communities are not in the margins, but we are taking place in the discussions, that we're included and that our voices matter. The group's scope isn't limited to one project, but all potential projects that could harm the natural environment, including data centres, the proposed Tantramar gas plant, and the renewed debate around fracking in New Brunswick. The coalition has academics on board to back their position. They asked us for our support, to support them in what expertise they need. So our role is to respond to their asks. If they come up and they ask for a scientific report on shale gas or on the impacts of their centers for example, we can come up with that. Around 30 people attended the launch event in Shediac, including residents who want to get involved in protesting and preventing their communities from being impacted by future projects. I hope that we will go to the streets because it seems that the moderate discourse does not seem to have any effect on the leaders that are deciding on these projects. The group says it hopes to meet with the provincial government and to work with other groups fighting climate change as well, including anglophone organizations and indigenous partners.