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No New Money For Oil and Gas Companies—Give It To Workers—Say Large Collection of Groups Representing More Than One Million Canadians

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 24, 2020

Ottawa—A large collection of health, faith, environmental, labour and social justice groups, representing one million three hundred thousand Canadians, have sent a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and his cabinet asking that in the federal bailout to the oil and gas industry, expected later this week, no more money be given to companies, only to workers.

“The fossil fuel industry is counting on Canadians being too occupied coping with an ongoing health crisis to register that our country is considering a massive transfer of public funds to support the very industry most likely to cause the next health crisis,” says Dr. Courtney Howard, Board President of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). “This is a crucial tipping point, and climate change must factor into all of our decision making,” she added. “The policies we pass now must benefit all Canadians and set us up for a post-COVID future we can step into with confidence.”

The letter states:

The federal government has the opportunity with this stimulus package to immediately and directly support workers in Alberta and across the country while also investing in what is needed to grow and support a low carbon economy, and the kind of economy that can weather storms.

The Federal government should not provide a bail out to oil and gas companies in the form of share purchases or loan guarantees, said groups.

“Governments must prioritize investing in Canadians, not corporations,” said Julia Levin, Climate and Energy Program Manager at Environmental Defence Canada. “This means not offering a multibillion dollar gift to already highly-subsidized oil and gas companies. The federal government should be focused on the health and resilience of workers and their families in the immediate and beyond – in this sector and all the impacted sectors across the country – who require urgent financial support in this unprecedented time.”

Groups laid out three critical measures for the stimulus package, including money for orphan well cleanup should be administered by an independent fund with representation from Indigenous communities, local governments and landowners who can ensure it is used to reclaim wells where the company is bankrupt and its remaining assets have already been spent for this purpose.

Groups pointed out that the federal government has committed to the Just Transition Act and now is the time to put in place a recovery program with measures to hasten a just transition and protect workers as oil and gas production declines.

“There is no better time than right now for the federal government to provide immediate financial support, as well as funding, retraining and education so that oil and gas workers can have long-term, stable jobs now and into the future,” said Steve Moran, National Coordinator of the Green Economy Network, which represents a number of organizations including labour.

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Media contacts: 

Melissa Hughes, Communications Director, CAPE, melissa@cape.ca
Barbara Hayes, Communications Manager, Environmental Defence, bhayes@environmentaldefence.ca
Steve Moran, National Coordinator, Green Economy Network


Featured photo by Arthur Chapman

Delays in final implementation of Great Bear Rainforest Agreements creating ecological uncertainty

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Greenpeace, Sierra Club BC, Stand.earth call on governments, major logging companies to address delays in light of climate, biodiversity crises

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 10, 2020

TRADITIONAL COAST SALISH TERRITORIES (Vancouver, BC) — On the fourth anniversary of the landmark Great Bear Rainforest Agreements, environmental organizations are warning that the implementation of remaining key protection measures for the region’s coastal temperate old-growth rainforests are significantly delayed. Greenpeace, Sierra Club BC, and Stand.earth are calling on governments and the major logging companies to address the delays, especially in light of the climate and biodiversity crises.

See photo & video: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PnfBPWVYWPMpFi4euEPCB05oKfZne1CP

In February 2016, First Nations and British Columbia signed the final iteration of 15 years of Great Bear Rainforest Agreements, protecting 3.1 million hectares of coastal temperate old-growth rainforests and leaving 550,000 hectares open to industrial logging, with commitments to implement stringent environmental logging standards. The Agreements were announced with the support of environmental organizations and major logging companies operating in the region.

Four years later, a number of components of the Agreements vital for the environmental health of this world-renowned rainforest are still not fully implemented.

“The world celebrated when the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements were signed in 2016,” said Tzeporah Berman, International Programs Director for Stand.earth. “But when the spotlight turned off, logging companies continued to target the biggest trees they could without the measures we agreed to.”

Despite promises, there is still no framework for both the oversight and monitoring of the impacts of industrial logging in the Great Bear Rainforest. In areas open to logging, the 2016 Agreements required planning to protect ecological and cultural values. Out of close to 200 areas, zero plans have been completed. These plans include the most endangered ecosystems (such as mature douglas fir and cedar), which were required to be completed by 2018.

“The Great Bear Rainforest and the Agreements for its protection are a global legacy for future generations, but only if they are fully implemented,” said Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner for Sierra Club BC. “Continued logging without finalized plans to protect endangered rainforests and ecosystems would create serious ecological risk. Moratoria for at-risk forests are needed immediately to prevent further ecological damage and implement the missing regulatory safeguards.”

“Important things have been achieved through these world-renowned conservation agreements, such as First Nations having increasingly greater say over their territories and the seeding of a conservation-based economy,” said Eduardo Sousa, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace Canada. “However significant foot-dragging by the big companies is creating uncertainty for the ecological well-being of the forest.”

Greenpeace, Sierra Club BC, and Stand.earth continue to strongly support the accomplishments and vision of the award-winning Great Bear Rainforest Agreements, as well as its robust implementation, in line with Indigenous rights and knowledge.

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Media contacts: 

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner, Sierra Club BC, 604-354-5312
Eduardo Sousa, Senior Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada, 778-378-9955
Tegan Hansen, Forest Campaigner, Stand.earth, tegan@stand.earth, 250-354-3302

Sierra Club BC expresses anger over police raids for Coastal GasLink pipeline

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 6, 2020

Sierra Club BC is angered by the RCMP raid and arrests in Wet’suwet’en territory this morning.

“Removing Wet’suwet’en people from their own territory and denying hereditary leaders entry to their land continues Canada’s destructive legacy of colonial dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Even according to the terms of the injunction, there is no justification for removing people from the area,” said Mark Worthing, Sierra Club BC’s climate and conservation campaigner.

“That the RCMP entered the territory under the cover of darkness, and have denied entry to and removed journalists, makes you wonder what police feel the need to hide. The safety of Wet’suwet’en people and supporters is paramount, and the actions of the police must not be withheld from view.”

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) protects the Indigenous right to self-determination, including Article 10 which states that: “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous peoples concerned and agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.”

“Sierra Club BC stands in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en, who are protecting their lands, waters and the climate we all depend on. We call for respect of Wet’suwet’en rights, title and laws,” said Worthing. “The B.C. government has passed legislation confirming its commitment to implementing UNDRIP. Today’s arrests are in direct contravention to this commitment. Forcibly removing Indigenous peoples from their own lands is not reconciliation.”

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Media contact:
Mark Worthing
Climate and Conservation Campaigner, Sierra Club BC
250-889-3575
mark@sierraclub.bc.ca

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