Gulf of St. Lawrence drilling moratorium sought

A group calling for a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of St. Lawrence says the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico should be a wake-up call.

The Green Party of Canada joined with the Save Our Seas and Shores Coalition on Monday to push for a stop to any deepwater drilling plans.

"It only takes one well and if we allow them into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it is not a matter of whether a spill will happen, but when," said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in a statement.

"Our tourism industry, our quality of life, our fisheries are all at risk."

An oil exploration lease has been issued to Corridor Resources next to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

May said landowners need to realize that the threat from oil rigs is not limited to the United States.

"Shoreline landowners in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Quebec should be very concerned with the evidence that we are seeing that the oil and gas industry is sorely unprepared to deal with spills," she said. "They have proven that they don't know how to prevent a spill, they don't know how to stop a spill, and they don't know how to clean up a spill."

Greg Egilsson, of the Gulf NS Herring Federation, said his group wants the federal and provincial governments to show respect for the fisheries and historic coastal communities.

He noted that the U.S. President Barack Obama has put a stop to deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the BP blowout.

"There's a moratorium on Georges Bank, a moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico. Why is there no moratorium in the Gulf of St. Lawrence?" said Egilsson.

P.E.I.'s environment minister has also called for a moratorium on drilling.