A New Democrat MP told the Commons on Tuesday that oil companies should pay for the damages caused by wildfires..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay, ON) said it was wrong for citizens to pay for firefighting costs when oil companies were “burning the planet.”.“Who is going to pay the cost for the huge damages that are being done to our planet right now, the billions in damages to communities and provinces from these unprecedented wildfires?” asked Angus..In 2022, the federal government set aside $256 million over five years to help provinces and territories buy firefighting equipment. .“Who is going to fund this?” asked Angus. .“We are seeing that Suncor made $70 billion in profits in two years. I think the profits should be put into a fund for the damages that are being caused by Suncor’s actions.”.Suncor Energy's Annual Reports to shareholders indicate net earnings totalled $9 billion last year and $4.1 billion in 2021. Management approved a 100% increase in 2021 dividends and reported the highest per-share dividend in company history last year..“Who takes the risk when fossil fuels are burned?” asked Angus. .“It is ordinary Canadians and citizens around the world. If the shareholders are going to make a profit, I think the people who really have a stake in this crisis should be able to get some recompense.”.Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs (Lakeland, AB) described Angus’ speech as illustrative of “the anti-energy, anti-private sector, anti-resource development costly coalition of the left.” .“Oh my, I am anti, anti, anti,” replied Angus..“My colleagues over there believe that it is like they are defiantly against the cellphone because they believe the typewriter is going to come back,” said Angus. .“The difference is the typewriter is not killing the planet. Big oil is. They can pound on their typewriters all they want and scream at the moon.”.“We have to get a real clean sense as New Democrats of how much the government is going to actually hold petroleum exploration to account,” Angus told the Commons. .“We cannot allow more development of the energy that is actually burning our planet. The Liberals are going to have to come clean with us on this.”.Angus discussed this while debating Bill C-49 An Act to Amend the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act..“The climatic impacts of releasing fossil fuel carbon dioxide to the atmosphere will last longer than Stonehenge, longer than nuclear waste, far longer than the age of human civilization so far,” said Angus. .“That is the cavalier attitude of those who are promoting the expansion of big oil.”
