Cumberland has become the ninth community in B.C. and the third on Vancouver Island to become part of a class-action lawsuit being established against “Big Oil” — or international oil companies — aimed at recovering the costs of adapting to climate change.
Council backed the move this week, said Cumberland Mayor Vickey Brown.
“In our wastewater project alone, the climate adaptations that we needed to make is over a million dollars for us,” she said. “We’re a small community and we can’t afford to pay that, neither can our residents.”
With that, council thought that joining the lawsuit “was the responsible thing to do,” Brown said.
Fiona Koza of West Coast Environmental Law said 70 American cities and states have already filed class-action lawsuits against oil companies, but the one developing in B.C. would be the first in Canada.
Measures that had to be taken with the Cumberland wastewater project included dealing with increased flow during atmospheric river events and adding aeration due to the effects of heat domes, Brown said.
She said she attributes having to take such steps “100 per cent” to climate change.
While Brown wasn’t sold on the label of Sue Big Oil given to the process, she said that for her the vote was all about “recouping the cost of adaptation that is being passed down to us, because oil companies knew in the ’70s that this was going to happen.”
“So they should have built that into their planning, that they would pay for any mitigation.”
The other two Island centres involved are View Royal and Qualicum Beach, and they have been joined around the province by Burnaby, Squamish, Gibsons, Slocan, Sechelt and Port Moody.
In addition, a declaration calling for additional local governments to participate has more than 11,000 signatures and the overall campaign has been endorsed by more than 40 organizations.
The Cumberland vote was applauded by the group Comox Valley Sue Big Oil and West Coast Environmental Law.
“I moved to Cumberland because I love this community and the nature that surrounds us,” said Sherry Westrop of Comox Valley Sue Big Oil. “I want to ensure that all Cumberlanders will be safe from climate impacts in the years to come. Our village is vulnerable to heat waves and wildfires, and with such a small tax base, we can’t afford the skyrocketing costs of climate change alone.”
The group is urging other area councils in Courtenay and Comox, as well as the Comox Valley Regional District, to follow Cumberland’s lead.
