Petition to the Government of Canada
  Whereas:
  
    Canada must transition away from fossil fuels in order to remain below the 1.5° warming threshold and prevent catastrophic climate change;
    Natural gas is a fossil fuel primarily composed of methane;
    Extracting natural gas through hydraulic fracking releases methane into the atmosphere;
    For the first 20 years after it is released, methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas;
    A recent study by Environment Canada researchers found that methane emissions from oil and gas operations in Western Canada were almost twice as high as previously thought;
    Enormous amounts of freshwater are consumed in the fracking process;
    Leaks of fracking fluid and poor management of fracking wastewater has resulted in widespread groundwater contamination;
    From at least as far back as 2016, the BC Oil and Gas Commission has been aware that waste water from fracking can contain hazardous levels of radioactive materials, and yet regulators do not require companies to test for radioactivity or to report on results of testing;
    Scientific studies have linked hydraulic gas fracking to increased risks of asthma, birth defects and cancer; and
    Due to these devastating environmental and health concerns, many jurisdictions around the world have either placed moratoriums on hydraulic gas fracking or banned it outright, including France, Germany, Bulgaria, Ireland, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Tunisia, New York State and Vermont State.
  
  
    We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada  to:
    1.    ban hydraulic gas fracking in Canada; and
    2.   accelerate our transition to renewable energy.