For Andrew Gage, events like the 2021 heat dome and worsening wildfires are making the impacts of climate change visible sooner than many thought they would be.
A growing list of communities have been signing on, including View Royal, Squamish and more recently Qualicum Beach. The Capital Regional District in late 2023 voted to explore joining such a lawsuit and Saanich did the same in February. He said communities are raising taxes to deal with essential municipal infrastructure being overwhelmed by climate change and the resulting damage from wildfires, drought and sea level rise. The lawyer also argues there’s an economic disconnect at play where those making the products causing climate change are being rewarded, while communities are facing a “growing tidal wave of climate costs.”
Those increased costs for taxpayers also come as oil and gas companies operating in Canada have amassed record profits in recent years while rolling back some of their environmental commitments. Suncor’s CEO, for example, said last year the Calgary-based company – which returned a record $7.7 billion to shareholders in 2022 – was too focused on the energy transition and would refocus on its oilsands assets.
The Canadian Association for Petroleum Producers told Black Press Media that oil and natural gas are the foundation of modern society and B.C. municipalities could not function without them. “If we’re all responsible for climate change, that means that the fossil fuel industry is also responsible,” he said.