Shale gas project gives pause to Quebec village

Residents in a farming village east of Montreal are asking Quebec for a moratorium on shale gas development in the area.

About 200 residents in Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu held a public meeting this week to discuss exploratory work being done in the region by Australian company Molopo.

The company doesn't yet have a drilling permit, and locals want assurance from the province that their concerns will be considered before any permission is granted, said Kim Cornelissen, a resident in the village.

"We need to share the information, we need to talk, we need to get some more information," Cornelissen said.

Any drilling project should be screened for "social acceptability", she added. "If people want [it] because maybe it will mean plenty of money for us, or an arena, a swimming pool and so on. We need to know."