The District of Saanich has taken a step to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the effects of climate change and make them pay for their part of it. 

On Monday, Saanich’s council unanimously accepted a staff recommendation to begin the process of exploring a potential class-action lawsuit with other municipalities.

Staff putting forward such a recommendation to a municipal council is considered a first in Canada.

Andrew Gage, a staff lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law, addressed the council in support of the motion, saying “There are now more than 60 governments in the United States bringing similar lawsuits against fossil fuel companies and it’s high time we did so here in Canada.”

“I know that this seems like a big deal, but the reality is that by bringing this case as a class action both the costs and risks to any one municipality can be managed.”

Gage pointed to an open letter from 2019, signed by 28 Canadian law professors, calling on Canadian governments to pursue climate change litigation against fossil fuel companies, an industry that's had a significant effect on the world’s climate.  

A 2017 study found that 100 fossil fuel companies have been the source of 71% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, with more than half of industrial emissions tied to just 25 companies.

The letter states that “the logic is simple: those who profit from selling harmful products should bear their fair share of the cost of the harms caused by their products.” 

“The direct effects of climate change represent a widespread violation of a huge range of legal rights on a scale difficult to comprehend.”

The letter acknowledges that these cases would be “novel” and a win for governments cannot be guaranteed, but it says there are existing legal principles that could make for a successful case.

Big Oil on South Island radar

Lawsuits against Big Oil companies are gaining traction in South Island governments. In December, the Capital Regional District (CRD) board voted to explore the possibility of joining a class-action lawsuit alongside other BC communities to recoup losses from fossil fuel companies. CRD staff are expected to release their findings in a report which is due this spring.  

Jane Devonshire, a View Royal resident and member of the South Island Climate Action Network spoke to the council about the need for the lawsuit, saying “People need to understand that climate change is already costing us a lot, in many other ways they’re not aware of.”

Devonshire pointed to potholes in roads and the die-off of the area’s urban canopy, as well as the larger-scale climate events such as floods and forest fires.