Bill to allow for uranium exploration, fracking is dangerous: N.S. advocates

Some Nova Scotia environmental advocates and physicians told a legislative committee Monday that a government bill to allow for uranium exploration and fracking is dangerous and should be scrapped. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston arrives for a first ministers meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan.15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia government bill that would open the door to fracking for fossil fuels and exploring for uranium is dangerous and should be scrapped, environmental advocates and physicians told a legislature committee on Monday.

The proposed legislation would repeal a law prohibiting uranium exploration to allow for research on the presence of the metal in Nova Scotia, and change the Petroleum Resources Act to “create the potential” for hydraulic fracking of onshore natural gas.

When he introduced the bill last month, Premier Tim Houston said the province needed to be more self-reliant and better able to withstand economic challenges from the United States, including 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump.

On Monday, members of the public voiced their concerns about the bill to a legislative committee. Dr. Laurette Geldenhuys, a Halifax-based physician and member of the Nova Scotia arm of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, warned the government not to “try to solve one crisis by creating another.”

“While the potential economic benefits of fracking and uranium mining may seem attractive, especially in these trying times, we must consider the hidden costs -- particularly to human health and our environment,” Geldenhuys said.

Recent medical evidence shows that proximity to fracking sites can result in preterm births, low birth weights and congenital defects among infants, higher rates of asthma in children and higher incidences of cardiovascular and respiratory disease among adults, said Geldenhuys, a pathologist who works at Halifax’s QEII Health Sciences Centre.

For uranium exploration, the associated risk of radon gas exposure, radioactive dust and potential water contamination are major concerns -- even with modern mining safety practices, she said.

Madeline Conacher with the group Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia told the committee she’s concerned the province seems to be fast-tracking their resource agenda without consulting residents and Mi’kmaq communities.

The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs said in a letter to Houston last month that the bill is another example of government choosing not to engage with Mi’kmaq people before introducing major changes that will impact Indigenous communities.

“These changes should have been discussed but were never raised or flagged for us. From a relationship perspective, these types of repetitive omissions are highly erosive,” the letter says.

Conacher said it is “unacceptable that the government tried to fast-track through lifting these bans on fracking uranium exploration, which could so adversely affect the environment. This was not in the election platform.”

She accused the government of leveraging “a time of crisis” -- the trade war with the U.S. -- to “advance an anti-environmental, deregulation agenda.”

Meanwhile, Sean Kirby with the Mining Association of Nova Scotia argued in favour of the bill and said the risks that people associate with uranium exploration and mining may be misconceptions based on outdated information. Uranium can be mined safely, in a way that is environmentally friendly, Kirby said, adding, “nuclear power fuelled by uranium is essential” to meeting climate change goals.

“The uranium ban has cost Nova Scotia almost a half century of lost jobs and investment in our uranium potential,” Kirby said.

Geldenhuys, however, said it is irresponsible to put economic gain ahead of the potential long-term environmental and health impacts of fracking and uranium exploration.

Out of 13 members of the public who spoke about the bill during the daytime hearings on Monday, 12 were opposed. The committee was scheduled to resume at 6 p.m. to hear from more residents.

Nancy Covington, a fellow member of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, and retired Halifax family doctor, told the committee that the health system cannot handle the further strain that she expects would come as a result of exposure to radon associated with uranium exploration and mining.

Covington said she disputes the position of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which says that there are no significant impacts to the health of people who live near uranium mines.

A Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission website entitled “Mythbusters” says, “human exposure to radon and radiation from modern uranium mining is very low and does not increase the risk of cancer.”

But Covington asserts that the safety commission is in a conflict of interest, given that its mandate is to carry out Canada’s commitments for peaceful use of nuclear energy. She said she disagrees with its assessment that uranium is safe.

“Even the act of exploring for uranium with boreholes can release radon .... As it decays, it emits radioactive particles which, if inhaled or ingested, can damage our DNA and other cellular components, potentially leading to cancer,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2025.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press