Canada

Canadian Resort Town’s Climate Shakedown Blows Up in Its Face

The idyllic, world-class ski town of Whistler, in Canada’s west coast province of British Columbia, is dealing with major fallout after the mayor sent a letter to Alberta-based Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and a handful of other oil and gas companies asking them to pay for climate-related damages to the municipality. Whistler is one of sixteen British Columbia communities that have sent similar letters since the summer of 2017 to oil and gas companies, but it is the first municipality to single out a Canadian firm to pay the damages.

The letter writing campaign has been spearheaded by West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL), a Canadian activist group. According to WCEL the letters are the first step in shifting the conversation towards “accountability” and the next step is for local governments to “come together in a joint lawsuit to claim compensation for the costs of preparing for climate change.”

See how the mayor’s letter backfired at EID Climate.

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