Former fisheries minister surprised by talk of drilling on Georges Bank

By Michael Gorman

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

Robert Thibault says the only thing that surprised him more about recent talk of drilling for oil on Georges Bank is the person talking about it.

Thibault, the MP for West Nova in southwestern Nova Scotia and former federal Minister of Fisheries, said word that provincial Minister of Energy and Yarmouth, N.S. MLA Richard Hurlburt is talking about drilling on Georges comes as a shock.

"I was amazed that (the subject) would be raised by a politician from the Yarmouth area," he said.

Thibault said considering the controversy the issue raised the last time it was visited, it seems premature for people to be considering it now. There is a moratorium on exploration for oil in the seafood-rich area until 2012. Some people are concerned about the idea of allowing drilling in the area because of the possible implications that could come if ever there was a spill or accident.

"Not even the (people) who own the majority of the leases there have been actively seeking to have it reopened, as I understand it," said Thibault.

One argument Hurlburt and others are using for pursuing the idea is the ongoing decline of the area's fishery and the corresponding need to create new jobs. But Thibault said the fishery isn't the only thing at stake in the event of a disaster and that whatever resources are located at Georges — no matter their size — will continue to be there for years to come.

"The fishery . . . has, since people have been living in Western Nova Scotia, been the economic mainstay. Hundreds of millions of dollars a year in direct and indirect benefits (come from it)."

Thibault said other industries such as the mink industry, which is valuable and employs many people in the area, rely of products from the fishery.

Another concern Thibault has for the area is what contaminants released in the area might mean to the fishery.

"Any contaminants released in the Gulf of Maine are held there," he said. "If you have drilling mods and all these other things that are released on the banks, they're going to stay in that ecosystem; they're not going to escape very easily, so there are huge risks."

On top of all of this, said Thibault, there are no guarantees that what is housed under the ocean floor is worth going after and putting the area's safety at risk.

"They're not that sure that there's that much direct and sustainable benefits to Western Nova Scotia from exploitation of the natural resources there . . . but (they) will always be there and maybe one day when there's a confidence by the people of Western Nova Scotia that you can exploit those and not risk your traditional industries — they'll still be there. There's no rush on those things."



(Michael Gorman is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s Yarmouth Vanguard newspaper and a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)