MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2008

Flaherty Urged to Not Increase Subsidies to the Tar Sands
Council of Canadians calls for a stimulus plan that is good for the economy and the environment

Saskatoon - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty needs to focus on the health and well being of Canadians and the environment at this week’s Finance Ministers meeting, says the Council of Canadians. The Alberta government’s message to Flaherty will be: ‘help the tar sands’. The Council is arguing that increasing subsidies to temper the pause in what has been an alarming pace of development in the tar sands comes at a high social and environmental cost.

“The Council of Canadians is calling for a stimulus package that will help Canadians and reduce greenhouse gases by investing in quality green jobs,” says Andrea Harden-Donahue, Energy Campaigner with the Council of Canadians. Alberta Minister of Finance and Enterprise Iris Evans’ is expected to propose federal tax breaks and a return to the eligibility of tar sands operators for accelerated capital cost allowance (ACCA). Under ACCA, producers pay extremely low royalty rates until capital costs have been recovered in profits.  “Energy efficiency retrofitting programmes, green energy development in the public sector and public transit – these are areas worthy of greater investment and assisted growth. We need a Canadian energy strategy that invests in these priorities, and we need it now.”

“The pause in tar sands development offers the opportunity to better understand and address their environmental and social impact,” says Harden-Donahue. The Council of Canadians is joining a growing number of voices calling for comprehensive, independent studies of the tar sands impacts on water and the health of communities like the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Not only does the development of Alberta’s tar sands rip up vast tracks of the boreal forest (an important carbon sink), a recent report by the Environmental Defence found that 11 million litres of contaminated tailings water is being leaked daily. Unusually high levels of cancer are being documented in communities downstream from the development. The Alberta government is now being challenged in court with allegations of not properly consulting the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in granting rights for tar sands development.

“As the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases in Canada, the tar sands are symbolic of our country’s failing record on climate change.” says Harden-Donahue. “The truth of the matter is that we are faced with a pay now, or pay later situation when it comes to inaction on energy and environmental policy,” noting that the groundbreaking Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change leaves no doubt that to be strong on the economy, one must also be strong on the environment.  The Stern report likens the impacts of climate change on the world economy – if unchecked – to that of the world wars and the Great Depression.

“We must look at the bigger picture and see the consequences of relying on the tar sands as an economic driver,” says Harden-Donahue. “We can invest and prioritize policies towards greater energy efficiency, improving conservation efforts and ensuring an equitable transition to a less carbon intensive society, or we will face the consequences of inaction.”  The Council is calling for a Canadian Energy Strategy that ensures Canadians’ energy security while helping transition to sustainable energy production and consumption.

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For more information, contact:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer: Tel.: (613) 233-4487, ext. 249;