April 14, 2020
OTTAWA - Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 - Campaign group SumOfUs flew a 15 foot by 60 foot banner that said ‘NO BIG OIL BAILOUT’ during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s daily COVID-19 briefing today.
SumOfUs organized this aerial spectacle to deliver a 15,000-strong petition from their members, as Prime Minister Trudeau comes under increasing pressure over his plan to bailout oil companies with $15 billion of taxpayers’ money.
SumOfUS campaigner, Amelia Meister said:
“The way out of this crisis isn’t throwing money at big oil. Prime Minister Trudeau mustn’t use this moment as an excuse to bankroll polluting and corrupt fossil fuel companies.
“For decades, Canadian taxpayers have given away billions in subsidies to oil execs while the industry has poisoned our air and water, and created a climate crisis that threatens us all. These dirty companies should be shut down, not propped up.”
Initially Trudeau announced the plan for a $15 billion oil industry bailout on March 19th and Finance Minister Bill Morneau promised the industry that aid was “hours, potentially days” away, but last week he confirmed that there is still no timeline for its release.(1)
This action is the latest in a growing campaign from the consumer watchdog group, SumOfUs: Through a petition of 15,528 names (2), a hard-hitting full-page ad in The Hill as well as a hugely popular email-writing campaign (3), SumOfUs members from all provinces have requested that the $15 billion be redirected towards a People’s Bailout.
“With COVID-19, the door is wide open for a People’s Bailout”, Amelia Meister said, “We need to put people's lives before oil companies' profits. Let’s stop enriching oil executives, and start investing in a cleaner future where everyone benefits.”
Notes:
(2)Petition: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/bill-morneau-don-t-bailout-big-oil-with-canadian-taxpayer-money/?source=fwd
(3)Email campaign: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/send-a-message-to-stop-the-big-oil-bailout/?source=fwd
For further information and media requests, please contact:
Amelia Meister, SumOfUs, 226-203-0958, press@sumofus.org
Luca Palladino, SumOfUs, 514-815-9256, press@sumofus.org
Photos of the aerial banner here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sumofus/