June 5, 2019, Ottawa—Major Canadian environmental groups are asking all federal parties to reject a set of demands proposed yesterday by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), Canada’s largest oil and gas lobby group. CAPP is asking for massive increases in oil and gas production, more oil pipelines and additional oil and gas subsidies, while suggesting the next Canadian government gut existing climate policies and attack Species at Risk.
“CAPP’s climate and energy demands will not only make climate change worse, they are an attack on the future of Canadians’ health and prosperity,” said Dale Marshall, National Climate Program Manager at Environmental Defence. “All federal parties must reject CAPP’s demands and show Canadians they are not going to be bought by the oil and gas lobby.”
Yesterday CAPP released its election wish list. Its demands also include:
- A significant expansion of oil and natural gas production and infrastructure
- Scrapping or gutting climate regulations such as the Clean Fuel Standard (which aims to improve the carbon content of our fuels), federal regulations to reduce dangerous emissions of methane from oil and gas wells, and laws to protect endangered species
- The construction of the TransMountain, Keystone XL, and Enbridge Line 3 pipelines, plus a number of additional unspecified pipelines
- An increase in public subsidies for oil and gas industries along with a declaration from federal parties that those subsidies don’t exist
- A limit on the ability of Canadian citizens to go to court to challenge oil and gas development that violates their rights
- A commitment to seek credits under the Paris Agreement for Canadian exports of oil and gas, despite the fact that these will increase overall global emissions
“At a time when every Canadians’ first priority — from government to educators, First Nations, citizens, to small businesses and big industry — should be protecting our families’ health safety from the realities of the climate crisis, CAPP’s election wish-list reads more like a Donald Trump tweet than a reasoned contribution from a well-heeled industry group on critical public policy,” said Lois Corbett, Executive Director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
“From Eastern and Atlantic Canada’s floods to Alberta’s forest fires to the Bay of Fundy, Canada is already experiencing the harsh reality of climate change. To demand anti-climate measures that will further subsidize the fossil fuel economy and slow or stall a move to a cleaner energy system is grossly negligent. Any party that borrows from such a proposal is a party with no sincere interest in the future of Canadian society,” said Catherine Abreu, Executive Director at Climate Action Network-Canada.
“Canadians from coast to coast to coast are experiencing the climate emergency first-hand; it is clear that it is oil company business plans that need to change, not our drive for climate solutions,” said Keith Stewart, Senior Energy Strategist for Greenpeace-Canada.
Groups asking for parties to reject CAPP’s demands include Climate Action Network-Canada, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecology Action Centre, Environmental Defence, Équiterre, and Greenpeace Canada.
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For more information, please contact:
Barbara Hayes, Communications Manager, Environmental Defence: 613-255-5724
Brendan Glauser, Communications Manager, David Suzuki Foundation: 604-356-8829
Keith Stewart, Senior Energy Strategist, Greenpeace Canada: 416-659-0294
Catherine Abreu, Executive Director, Climate Action Network-Canada: 902-412-8953
Jon MacNeill, Communications Director, Conservation Council of New Brunswick: 506-458-8747
Tzeporah Berman, Stand.Earth 604-313-4713