A group of Tantramar seniors want to ensure everyone in the community has a chance to learn and ask questions about the proposed Centre Village shale gas plant.
This Sunday, February 15, Seniors for Climate – Tantramar is hosting an informal information session from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tantramar Civic Centre, with local experts and children’s activities, as well as cider and baked goods.
Logan Atkinson, a member of Seniors for Climate, hopes the casual event will leave people feeling empowered to make their own decisions about whether they want the gas plant to permanently alter their community.
“Is that what we really want? We better be bloody sure that’s what we want because there’s no going back, right?”
Part of the Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition, Seniors for Climate – Tantramar has previously hosted more formal sessions in Midgic, Sackville, Memramcook, Moncton and Cap-Acadie. This will be the last in that series for now, and the first informal one, which will allow people to ask questions at their own pace.
The hope is to catch anyone they may have missed, said Meredith Fisher, another member of the group.
“But this time around we thought, we need sort of to help reach out to people who really haven’t known very much about it, [or] have heard about it, but perhaps want a little more information from…local people that they know or see around town.”
There will also be a small theatre area with about a dozen seats showing clips of presentations made by experts and leading thinkers on these topics in the province.
And for those looking for something concrete to do, there will be postcards featuring the group’s logo for folks to sign, said Fisher.
“ There’s room to have a comment, sign your name, the date. And our MLA Megan Mitton will hand it to the premier when she goes to Fredericton.”
While Atkinson has noticed plenty of engagement from his fellow seniors, as well as younger people, he knows how hard it can be for those in the middle of their lives—those busy with children and jobs—to find time to sift through all of the information coming out, he said.
“And so we decided that at this one, we want to give them an opportunity to bring their children along in a space that’s safe and friendly for their children, so that if they are curious about this project, they’ll have an opportunity without being, you know, worrying about babysitters and this kind of thing.”
To that end, EOS Eco-Energy and Seniors for Climate will have activities to help educate the kids in attendance as well and to answer any questions they may have, said Fisher.
“They’re our future. We want to, they’re our legacy, you know, we they don’t get to really speak for themselves at things like this.”
To find out more information about this event and what else they’re doing to advocate against the gas plant, check out Seniors for Climate Tantramar Facebook page.
