Members of an environmental group are asking Port Moody residents to rally outside City Hall tomorrow, Jan. 23, after its request to appear as a delegation before that night’s scheduled council meeting was denied.
Benjamin Perry, of the Force of Nature Alliance — Tri-Cities, said the group wants the city to join a proposed class action lawsuit it’s urging municipalities to file against oil corporations.
“The world's largest fossil fuel companies have worked tirelessly to prevent climate action and have made massive profits as a result,” Perry said in a news release.
“They should be forced to pay their fair share for climate damages.”
However, Tim Savoie, Port Moody’s city manager, said delegations can’t present about issues over which council doesn’t have legal, financial or operational jurisdiction. Instead, representatives from Force of Nature have been invited to attend public input, which takes place at the beginning and end of meetings.
But the environmental group said council has already stepped into the climate change accountability fray when it passed a resolution in April 2019 calling for the provincial government to enact legislation that holds fossil fuel companies liable for harms caused by climate change.
“This delegation builds upon that resolution by joining with other municipalities in raising such a lawsuit,” said the group in its request to appear before council.
Added Perry, “Mayor Meghan Lahti and other veteran councillors have been very proactive on climate in the past and I imagine they would support this initiative if they were allowed to hear it.”
Andrew Gage, a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, questioned the city’s contention the proposed lawsuit is out of council’s jurisdiction.
“The City of Port Moody has jurisdiction to spend millions of dollars on infrastructure and services required to keep its residents safe from climate change,” he said.
“Passing climate costs onto residents without taking basic steps to recover them from the companies that have profited most from causing climate change would be financially reckless.”
The campaign to sue fossil fuel corporations is being stewarded by Gage’s law firm in partnership with several environmental groups like Force of Nature, the Georgia Strait Alliance and the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association. According to the group, three municipalities in the province — the District of Squamish, Gibson and View Royal — have already agreed to participate in the lawsuit, which requires them to commit contributing one dollar per resident in funding.
Vancouver initially supported the initiative in 2022 but when it came time to add the nearly $700,000 cost to join the lawsuit into the city’s 2023 operating budget, a revised plan to set aside a more modest amount based on one cent per resident was rejected.
Several large American cities and counties have launched similar lawsuits, as have states like California, Connecticut, Minnesota and New Jersey.
Savoie said Port Moody’s policy does allow delegations to speak on non-jurisdictional issues if a councillor files a request on their behalf and a majority of council agrees.
Such a request was made my Coun. Haven Lurbiecki on Jan. 11 and council will decide Tuesday whether to allow the group to appear as a delegation at a future meeting.
Perry said the rally at Port Moody City Hall — located at 100 Newport Dr. — is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
