441-01132 (Environment)
Original language of petition: English
Petition to the Government of Canada
We, the undersigned concerned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to support families and small businesses that have been impacted by oil companies who promised to remediate their contaminated land and have neglected to act on that promise.
Response by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable STEVEN GUILBEAULT
The Government of Canada strongly endorses the polluter-pays principle to ensure that companies are accountable.
The provinces are primarily responsible for the regulation of oil and gas wells throughout their life cycle. Several provinces have put in place liability regimes in an attempt to address this issue. Cleaning up inactive wells is important to prevent methane leaks and protect the habitat of species at risk.
In response to the difficult economic circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, in April 2020, the Government of Canada announced $1.72 billion to help provincial governments clean up inactive and orphan oil and gas wells in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
As part of this initiative, the recipient provinces agreed to ensure that they have in place sustainably-funded systems whereby oil and gas companies bear the costs of their environmental responsibilities. All three provinces committed to, and have since implemented, strengthened regulations to reduce the prospect of new orphan wells.
- Presented to the House of Commons
-
Blake Desjarlais
(Edmonton Griesbach)
February 10, 2023 (Petition No. 441-01132) - Government response tabled
- March 27, 2023
Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.