I’m grateful that your Earth Month coverage includes an article on the class action lawsuit local governments can join to sue big oil [“Climate change cost us: Who will pay?” April 13].
Efforts to protect our children’s future have clearly been undermined by relatively few people. Often the legal system has failed to protect the health of people and other living things.
A glaring example of that is the epic legal case initiated by a woman who once was a consultant to the fracked-gas company then known as Encana, Jessica Ernst. Ernst sued Encana, and the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, after fracking for “natural gas” contaminated many people’s water, including hers.
With the help of West Coast Environmental Law, and volunteer efforts ramping up in many BC communities, we may succeed in getting the legal system to help taxpayers recoup costs associated with the climate crisis. These efforts will also help ensure that financing will go toward transitioning to more sustainable ways of living, rather than toward more fossil fuel expansion.
Jan Slakov
Van Anda, Texada Island
