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NDP leader accuses lobby group of “pulling a con job”

June 11, 2012, Rothesay, N.V. – Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is
accusing a national energy lobby group of "pulling a con job" when
promoting shale gas fracking.

June 11, 2012, Rothesay, N.V. – Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is accusing a national energy lobby group of "pulling a con job" when promoting shale gas fracking.

Mulcair was in New Brunswick on Sunday to boost the campaign of provincial NDP Leader Dominic Cardy in a byelection in the Saint John-area riding of Rothesay.

During his visit, Mulcair said the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers was "pulling a con job" in trying to make the public believe they were regulating the industry.

Fracking, which refers to hydraulic fracturing, involves the use of high volumes of water and chemicals to fracture layers of rock to release pockets of shale gas.

The industry has argued that fracking is safe and sustainable and provides major economic benefits, an argument environmental groups reject. Mulcair says the drinking water supply on the edge of Rothesay could be harmed by fracking.

Mulcair also said he supports the development of a west-to-east pipeline that would deliver energy and generate jobs in Atlantic Canada.