Fracking and its related industrialization on Treaty 8 territory in northeastern B.C. has had a devastating impact on local communities, residents claim. They say it has harmed their physical and mental health, threatened traditional hunting and fishing practices, the water – and the land itself.
This controversial method of subjecting deep rock formations to pressure, cracking the shale to to extract oil and natural gas, will be the topic of the next presentation of the White Rock Social Justice Film Festival.
Fracking the Peace is scheduled to be screened for Friday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Turnbull Gallery, in South Surrey Arts and Recreation Centre, 14601 20 Avenue.
The screening will be followed by discussion with guest speakers, and admission is by donation ($10 suggested). Doors open at 6 p.m.
The powerful documentary, made by Desiree Wallace in partnership with Stand.earth, follows community members living on Treaty 8 territory as they tell the story of how fracking has impacted their lives.
Home to the majestic Peace River, the region, they claim, has been ravaged by more than 31,000 fracking wells threatening livelihoods, physical and mental health, and the very water that sustains the life and spirit of these communities.
Also of concern is that fracking is currently responsible for the majority of B.C.’s methane emissions. The presence of methane – a powerful greenhouse gas that is 86 times more toxic for the atmosphere than CO2 – has been historically under-reported in B.C., according to the documentary. Yet, the fracking industry continues to receive the single largest oil and gas subsidy from the B.C. government.
Fracking the Peace paints a picture of how fracking development in B.C. has been allowed to skyrocket at the expense of the health and safety of watersheds, communities, and the rich agricultural landscape they called home.
The initial tour of the film has been organized in collaboration with the Wilderness Committee, Dogwood BC, My Sea To Sky, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.