BC Local Government Candidates Pledge to Sue Big Oil

The candidates who want to represent you on Council and Regional District Boards are vying for election, and one critical issue is how will they protect you from climate change – both from its impacts and from the costs that our communities will need to pay due to the world’s ongoing addiction to fossil fuels.

The Sue Big Oil Declaration calls on local governments to protect their residents, by fighting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and building infrastructure that will keep us safe from climate impacts, but also by working to hold accountable, through a class action lawsuit, the companies that produce the fossil fuels that give rise to those impacts and resulting costs to local communities.

We sent an email to as many candidates in BC’s local government elections as we could, asking them to pledge to work towards the goals of the Sue Big Oil Campaign (see below for the wording of the pledge). This included all candidates whose emails were available through the CivicInfo list of candidates. Because that database did not have email listings for any of the City of Vancouver candidates, we put together our own list of emails for Vancouver candidates.

We got 37 responses (update – 42 as of October 14) from candidates in 21 communities. Of these, 31 supported the Declaration (36 as of October 13), four opposed, and two were neutral. We have shared below all responses (30) received from candidates who both responded and indicated that we could share their names publicly.

Clearly, we would have preferred a higher response rate. However, we are grateful to all candidates who took the time to read the pledge and to respond.  We also note that other organizations are asking their local candidates if they support a class action lawsuit against fossil fuel companies in candidate surveys (for example, this survey from the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association).

It’s not too late for candidates to sign the pledge to sue Big Oil. If you are a candidate, you can sign it here. If you know a candidate who should sign, please encourage them to do so.

The following list of responses is offered as one piece of information for voters who care about the climate and ensuring that our communities do not bear all of the costs that result from fossil fuel pollution. Voters will want to consider each candidate’s full platform and other commitments on climate and more generally. However, we hope that you will consider the responses received from the following candidates.

Sue Big Oil Candidates’ Pledge

If elected, I pledge to work with other officials to deliver the goals of the Sue Big Oil Declaration, including to:

• Act urgently to tackle climate change and protect us from future heat waves, flooding, wildfires, drought and other climate impacts;
• Join with other local governments to file a class action lawsuit to recover a fair share of our climate costs;
• Allocate at least $1 per person towards a community fund to sue Big Oil;
• Build equitable and sustainable communities that put people and the planet before corporate profits; and
• Cooperate with Indigenous peoples in doing so.

Signed the pledge:

(Click on a community to jump to the candidates from that local government)

Abbotsford * Burnaby * Coquitlam * Courtenay * Islands Trust * Langley * Maple Ridge * Nanaimo * North Vancouver (District) * Pitt Meadows * Revelstoke * Richmond * Sooke * Vancouver * Victoria * White Rock * Sunshine Coast (external link) * Other candidates