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Letter: It’s time to make the polluters pay

The industry fuelling the climate crisis is rolling in money
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It’s time to make the polluters pay

Post tropical storm Fiona caused more than $660 million in insured damage when it ripped through Atlantic Canada this September, making it the most costly weather event in the region’s history. The real cost was almost certainly even higher.

Many of those whose homes were damaged by the record-breaking winds won’t be getting insurance payouts. And for communities like Port-aux-Basques, devastated by the storm surge, it’s hard to know if things will ever go back to normal.

Meanwhile, the industry fuelling the climate crisis is rolling in money. Globally, the fossil fuel sector is on track to make over US $4 trillion in 2022. A recent Pembina Institute report estimates Canadian oil and gas companies’ free cashflow will reach a record $152 billion this year.

The same report shows they’re putting almost none of those moneys into delivering on their climate pledges, choosing instead to dole out executive bonuses and shareholder .

The Trudeau government should introduce an oil and gas windfall profits tax to help cover the cost of climate disasters like Fiona and to kickstart a rapid, just transition to a 100 per cent clean energy economy.

Big Oil spread denial and blocked action for decades. We can’t keep letting the burdens of the climate crisis they created fall on everyday people. With a windfall tax, we can finally make polluters pay their fair share.

That’s why I’ve joined thousands of people in calling on Trudeau to #TaxBigOil. You can learn more about the campaign at 350.org/TaxBigOil

Liz Newton

Duncan