‘Frack Free Yukon’ stickers to begin adorning area bumpers by Ainslie Cruickshank, October 23, 2012, Whitehorse Star
FRACK-FREE TERRITORY PROMOTED – Julie Frisch and Don Roberts, seen this morning, have had bumper stickers made up to oppose fracking. They hope to educate Yukoners to the dangers of the drilling practice. “Protect the Peel” bumper stickers have become commonplace around the territory. Soon, “Frack Free Yukon” stickers may be just as familiar. Don Roberts, a former Liberal cabinet minister and independent MLA, and Julie Frisch, both members of the group Yukoners Concerned about Oil and Gas Exploration/Development, unveiled the bumper sticker this morning. The group is also planning a rally at noon Thursday outside the Yukon government’s main administrative building. The fall session of the legislature is set to begin with question period at 1:00 that afternoon. Frisch noted there will be speeches at the rally, and a petition against oil and gas exploration will be available for people to sign. “They’re going to be looking at amending YOGA, the Yukon Oil and Gas Act, during this sitting probably, and this would be the appropriate time to put a moratorium on fracking,” she said. “We, Yukoners Concerned, plus all the other people who are supporting us, be it CPAWS (the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society), be it the Yukon Conservation Society, want to see fracking banned until Yukoners can discuss it, debate it and look at the consequences of it,” said Roberts. “It’s not for me to say no; I’m saying no because I know, with what education I’ve had so far that it’s not good for the land, but I think Yukoners really should know about what dangers fracking poses for our environment.” Oil and gas companies, Roberts suggested, “are trying to camouflage the dangers of fracking. They have no way of disposing of the fracking fluid. They basically either leave it in the ground, which eventually comes back up, somehow because the land has been so fractured, or they leave some of it on the soil,” he said. “This could be in our wild, pristine environment,” the former minister added.
“In today’s society, there seems to be a real intent on fracking the living daylights out of Canada,” said Roberts. “Why do we have to frack every corner of the Earth?”
Frisch noted there are just too many questions Yukoners need answers to before fracking is permitted. The uncertainties include concerns about waste disposal, trucking and the effects of more traffic on the Dempster Highway, and how fracking could affect land underlain by thawing permafrost.
The group bought almost 2,000 of the bumper stickers. They can be picked up at Aroma Borealis, Alpine Bakery, BYTE, Midnight Sun Coffee, Well Read Books, CPAWS, the conservation society, the Takhini Hot Springs and more. [Emphasis added]