Deborah Curran – The Conversation

A multi-well pad for a natural gas plant is pictured outside of Fort St. John, B.C., in October 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

July 2, 2026

B.C. and Alberta fall behind on fracking safety distances for residents

Margaret McGregor, University of British Columbia; Deborah Curran, University of Victoria; Élyse Caron-Beaudoin, University of Toronto; Kevin Berk, Dalhousie University, and Tim K. Takaro, Simon Fraser University

Setback regulations remain the only lever that affords some protection to those bearing the greatest health risks of shale gas development in their neighbourhoods.

The United We Roll convoy of semi-trucks travels the highway near Red Deer, Alta., in February 2019 en route to Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

March 17, 2019

Cooling the rhetoric on Canada’s environmental assessment efforts

Mark Winfield, York University, Canada; Deborah Curran, University of Victoria, and Martin Olszynski

Canadians would be better served by a calmer and better-informed debate over the specifics of Bill C-69 than what we have been seeing over the past few weeks.

Suncor’s base plant with upgraders in the oil sands in Fort McMurray Alta., June 13, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson)

October 11, 2018

How post‑truth politics is sinking debate on environmental assessment reform

Mark Winfield, York University, Canada; Deborah Curran, University of Victoria, and Martin Olszynski, University of Calgary

Canada’s proposed new environmental assessment law is facing heated, if not necessarily well-informed, opposition. The real question is whether it goes far enough.

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