Following the advent of directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing technologies, and liquefying natural gas for transportation purposes, much of British Columbia’s natural gas (roughly half of Canada’s known reserves) are now accessible for extraction and development. The promise of so-called ‘unconventional’ natural gas (UNG) development is to transform British Columbia’s economy by diversifying its energy portfolio. Indeed, elected officials have committed to expanding the province’s natural gas industry through a combination of increased drilling, pipeline development, workforce training, and approving the construction of processing facilities capable of liquefying natural gas so that it can be transported to overseas markets. However, the suggested benefits of rapid industrial development (e.g. local economic development) are speculative and debatable, signaling the need for further research. Indeed, the extraction, production, and transportation of natural gas will have profound, but markedly different impacts on ‘upstream’ gas producing regions, ‘midstream’ transportation corridors, and ‘downstream’ processing and shipping communities. This presentation shares findings from a scoping review of the scholarly literature addressing the community impacts of UNG development across the supply chain. The presentation uses a ‘social determinants of health’ framing to comment on the emerging health and equity implications of UNG development for local populations before providing suggestions on how to bolster BC’s environmental public health protection activities.

This series is available via webex/audio conference. Registration is not required.

Teleconference :1 877-385-4099 Passcode: 8353420#
WebEx https://innovationdevelopment.webex.com Meeting Password: brownbag