Guess who’s coming to Wood Buffalo?
The mayor of Victoria, B.C., Lisa Helps is dropping by Fort McMurray.
Helps accepted the invitation to tour the region from Calgary councillor Ward Sutherland.
She looks forward to the opportunity to tour the oilsands.
“I’m generally a curious person, and I’m generally a person who has an open mind, and I think on a complex issue like this one it’s really important to gain as many prospectives as possible.”
Ward Sutherland invited the mayor when Victoria council discussed filing a class action lawsuit against the oil and gas industry.
I’m challenging #yyjpoli to visit #yyc to learn about #ab’s ethical oil + gas industry/enviro initiatives. @seanchucalgary @Joe_Magliocca @JyotiGondek @JeffDavisonYYC @ChahalGeorge @DruhFarrell @EWoolleyWard8 @gccarra @RundleRay @JeromyYYC @CouncillorKeats @BigRedyyc @peterdemong pic.twitter.com/M9GIanFrdz
— Ward Sutherland (@Ward4Ward1) February 1, 2019
The city of Calgary will finance Mayor Helps’ trip to Wood Buffalo.
The goal of the visit
Mayor Helps agrees Canada’s oil and gas industry has a strong reputation for sustainability.
However, she wonders about a report from an inter-governmental panel on climate change urging Canada “significantly reduce carbon pollution” by 2030.
“My stance, at this point, is that fossil fuels are best kept in the ground. Workers working in that industry deserve a just transition. No one should be unemployed, and I think that the federal government should dump billions of dollars into Alberta to make it an energy superpower of the future.”
Nevertheless, Mayor Lisa Helps said she may modify her stance after her visit.
“To be truly open-minded, I think means to come willing to learn. Transitions don’t happen overnight, so I’m curious to learn more. I think we do need to work together to figure out how do can we best have the most effective transition to a low carbon economy, including taking care of workers.”
Mayor Lisa aims to visit on Apr. 26, 2019.
