By Michael Binnion, President and Chief Executive Officer, Questerre Energy Corp. My interpretation of a recent Environics Research Poll is that support for modern natural gas development may be higher in Quebec than Alberta. This is incredible if true. Opposition to a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing polled higher in Quebec than anywhere in the country according to a Post Media report also in the Gazette in early February. On average 28% of Canadians were opposed to a moratorium whereas 36% of Quebecers were opposed (36% is higher than the leading political party in Quebec at present.) At least as interesting is that support for a moratorium was lower in Quebec than Alberta. About 62% of Canadians support a moratorium where only 57% of Albertans do. What’s amazing is the poll found that even fewer Quebecers support a moratorium at just 55%, the lowest in the country. A summary of the poll can be seen at this link. Am I the only one who finds this pretty incredible? I spend much of my time trying to explain to people the unique situation in Quebec and why high public opposition resulted in a defacto moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. What if it’s completely the wrong question? What if the question should be why is there so little support for a moratorium in Quebec? Certainly opponents work harder and are better organized in Quebec than anywhere else in the country. Why isn’t, as I took for granted, opposition higher in Quebec than anywhere else in the country? I don’t have an answer but if you do, please leave me a comment on my blog. Plus, if you can answer that, then I have another question for you. If support for a moratorium is lower than anywhere else in the country and opposition is higher than anywhere else in the country, why does Quebec have a defacto moratorium? As a postscript, it’s likely that over 90% of all new onshore oil and gas wells in Canada are hydraulically fractured. So a small suggestion to the 62% of Canadians apparently in favor of a moratorium -- you might consider a ‘summer only’ one. Otherwise winter could become unusually long and cold for all those Canadians who rely on natural gas to heat their homes.