Ben West, healthy communities campaigner for the Wilderness Committee, wrote the following open letter:

 

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

 

I am writing you on behalf of the Wilderness Committee, an environmental organization representing over 60,000 members and supporters across Canada. We wish to add our voice to those of millions of Canadians in expressing our outrage and utter frustration at the role you as our government have played in facilitating the global climate crisis. This irresponsible role on the world stage is epitomized by this week’s announcement by Environment Minister Peter Kent that Canada is pulling out of the Kyoto Accord and was not interested in continuing into a new phase of this legally binding, international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

We have recently published a new report, entitled ‘Global Warming: Made in Canada’, that lays out Canada’s role in the climate crisis and sets out a baseline of key demands in regards to what must be done for Canada to play a responsible role in the world in light of the collective challenges we all face. First and foremost our paper points to the tar sands as the elephant in the room when it comes to Canada’s role in climate change.

 

The effort made by your government to rebrand Canada’s oil reserves as the ethical alternative to oil from other parts of the planet is utterly irresponsible and truly beyond the pale. Given the scope of the climate crisis and the impacts already being felt, there is no distinction on ethical terms that can reasonably be made between oil reserves in Canada or elsewhere. Burning fossil fuels is the leading cause of climate change which is, according to the United Nations, the single largest threat facing humanity today. Already millions of people are becoming climate refugees due to the impacts of desertification, rising sea levels and extreme weather events. There is nothing ethical about promoting the expansion of a resource that is playing a central role in humanitarian disasters in the world’s poorest countries.

 

Even if all other sources of fossil fuel were abandoned, the amount of carbon stored within the Canadian bitumen deposits we call the tar sands is substantial enough to heat the planet beyond the 2 degrees Celsius tipping point. This tipping point is widely recognized as the point of no return where it will be impossible for us to do anything to stop runaway climate change.

 

As you are probably aware Canada, along with all G8 countries, has committed to stopping global temperatures from exceeding this 2 degree limit. Given that our oil reserves alone could result in passing this tipping point, we have an extra responsibility to the global community when it comes to mitigating climate change.

 

The government of Canada must immediately stop actively blocking international climate negotiations. It is beyond shameful that international environmental organizations have now five years in a row given Canada the fossil of the year award for obstructing climate treaties. Clearly the reason for this obstruction is the expansion of Canada's fossil fuel reserves. This is definitively self-interested and knowingly doing serious harm, as your government is clearly aware of the implications of these actions. We must stop expanding the tar sands, which of course means saying no to new pipelines and pipeline expansions such as the Enbridge pipeline and the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion as well as all associated oil tanker traffic.

 

As we say in our report, this is what Canada must do to begin to fix our “TARnished reputation” on the international stage.

 

Now is the time to get on the right track. You must stop the obscene subsidization of the fossil fuel industry that is wreaking such havoc on the planet. We must join with many others around the world in prioritizing investment in public transit over highway expansion. We should strategically invest in light rail corridors for passenger use and the movement of goods. And of course we must quickly phase out all of our coal fired power plants and replace them with alternatives that are publicly owned, regionally planned, environmentally appropriate and acceptable to First Nations.

 

We need to do the right things at home to reduce our own emissions, and transportation planning is a big part of that. But the much bigger responsibility is to phase out our fossil fuel supply. Our resource is powerful and dangerous, and that makes you -- as an elected political representative of this country -- very dangerous. The people of Canada care deeply about the people of the world and want to be humanitarians and peacekeepers. Facilitating further addiction to fossil fuels for the sake of short sighted profits and power is fundamentally irresponsible.

 

We are writing to you today to make it clear that we will not stand for your disregard for global safety and common decency.

 

History will not look kindly on you if you continue the present course.

 

Where governments pursue failed and unethical policies, the people have a responsibility to step up and take action. We are already working with many in Canada and around the world who are dedicated to making sure Canada’s fossil fuel exports are phased out. Canada can and must do better. We will not allow you to continue with this immoral support for oil companies profits over the health and safety of people world wide.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ben West

Healthy Communities Campaigner

Wilderness Committee