{"id":8619,"date":"2019-05-01T12:03:19","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T16:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=8619"},"modified":"2021-12-06T06:32:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T11:32:15","slug":"i-asked-my-city-hall-to-hold-big-polluters-accountable-and-they-took-the-first-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/volunteer-blog\/8619\/i-asked-my-city-hall-to-hold-big-polluters-accountable-and-they-took-the-first-step\/","title":{"rendered":"I Asked My City Hall to Hold Big Polluters Accountable, and They Took the First Step"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On April 25<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, I joined a dozen other Torontonians in delivering deputations to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee at City Hall in favor of pursuing compensation for costs of climate change to Toronto.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Watch the deputations here:<\/p>\n<h5><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dGZsfpH0J8I\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/em><\/h5>\n<p>It\u2019s a Greenpeace Canada campaign I had been anticipating for months.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our team had been preparing for it ever since our Greenpeace Toronto Local Group volunteer team met in January to plan our actions for the coming year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Toronto has been suffering from extreme weather for many years now. We\u2019ve experienced heat waves, storms, extreme winds, and lots of flooding that has caused massive damage to Toronto\u2019s homes, services and businesses. With <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/assets.ibc.ca\/Documents\/Studies\/IBC-The-Economic-Impacts.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">six \u201c100 year storms\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hitting the Greater Toronto area since 2005, the costs of damage incurred by climate change-related extreme weather seems to be ever-rising. Taxpayers and insurers are likely to struggle to cover these costs in the years to come.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following in the footsteps of other cities, such as San Francisco and New York City, we as citizens of Toronto believe that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/03\/648826b4-6rts-briefing-note-final-1.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">big polluters should pay their fair share<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the costs for their contribution to climate change and extreme weather.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oil companies have knowingly contributed to rising CO2 emissions fuelling climate change for decades <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/7986\/oil-companies-just-gave-toronto-6ix-reasons-to-sue-heres-why\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but misled the public about it<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Oil companies have broken the public\u2019s trust just like tobacco companies. Tobacco companies knew that their products could cause cancer, yet hid it from the public for decades and jeopardized our health. They have been held accountable for covering the health care costs of smoking. Similarly, oil companies should pay their share of the costs of protective and recovery efforts in Toronto.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was late last month that Councilor Mike Layton of the Infrastructure and Environment committee <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/canada\/toronto\/article-toronto-should-sue-oil-companies-over-climate-change-councillor-says\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">brought a motion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pursuing Compensation for the Cost of Climate Change to the City of Toronto\u201d. The committee was then slated to vote on the motion on April 25th.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8621\" style=\"width: 586px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8621\" class=\"wp-image-8621 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/35d05f21-6ixrts-deputations-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/35d05f21-6ixrts-deputations-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/35d05f21-6ixrts-deputations-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/35d05f21-6ixrts-deputations-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/35d05f21-6ixrts-deputations-453x340.jpg 453w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/35d05f21-6ixrts-deputations.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-8621\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Greenpeace volunteers and other deputants with Councillor Mike Layton<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p>I was determined to go to City Hall and ask our councilors to uphold big polluters responsible in paying for the damages of climate change to Toronto.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A month before the deputations, I joined a workshop by Greenpeace Communications Officer Jesse Firempong who helped us figure out how to tell our stories. A workshop by Keith Stewart a week prior to the deputations reminded us of the stories we wanted to tell. As we went around the room and discussed our ideas, it was evident that all of us had our own personal stories about how climate change in Toronto had affected us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The day finally came.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Walking briskly through Nathan Phillips square, past the big letters that read \u201cTORONTO\u201d, I felt validated in what I was going to ask for today. I hurried past the heavy doors of City Hall, passed the security and found meeting room 1. The friendly faces of the Greenpeace Canada team waiting in the last row of the room and welcoming me into the meeting was all I needed to gather my courage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My name was the third to be called. Feeling confident and shaking with excitement I told the council of what Toronto meant to the citizens of this city, especially to the immigrants, like my parents, who have chosen Toronto as their new home. Recent studies have shown that some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/technology\/oilsands-carbon-emissions-study-1.5106809\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">oil companies <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have been<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> releasing 64% more CO2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, on average,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than they report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. As Canada\u2019s climate is warming <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/technology\/canada-warming-at-twice-the-global-rate-leaked-report-finds-1.5079765\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">twice as fast<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as the rest of the globe, we should expect more weather-related damage to our city and everything we have built.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Along with the other deputants, I urged the councilors to vote in favor of the motion to look into the long-term costs of climate change to Toronto and to hold big polluters accountable for their fair share of contributions to this damage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I sat back down in my chair, I realized how easy it was to exercise my democratic right, and that it is not something to be taken for granted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>A tip for first-timer deputants like me:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it doesn\u2019t matter if public speaking is not your strong suit. There was nothing to be fearful of in that room. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Show up and speak up!<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Show your support for your environment, your city, and for climate justice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I heard scientific, legal, social, and personal accounts of what it meant to protect Toronto from climate damage and to seek compensation from big polluters. To me, every action that I choose to take part in as a Greenpeace volunteer has been a learning opportunity. Putting myself out there as an activist among others and voicing my opinion has shown me the power of our collective voices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After hearing all the speakers and discussion, the committee came to their decision:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/app.toronto.ca\/tmmis\/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2019.IE4.4\"><b>The <\/b><b>motion was passed!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019ve asked city staff to report back to the committee by the end of 2019 on the costs of climate change to Toronto and legal avenues for pursuing compensation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our job as responsible citizens, activists, and volunteers does not end here. These deputations and this motion were just the beginning. There\u2019s so much more to come, and we need to continuously keep our municipalities, governments and big polluters accountable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We will be following the completion of the report closely and will continue to urge our municipal government to make oil companies pay their fair share of the damage they cause our city, our families, and our lives.<br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<strong>To learn more, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/press-release\/8572\/doctors-group-environmental-groups-and-residents-call-on-torontos-city-council-to-hold-big-polluters-accountable-for-climate-costs\/\"><strong>click here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-8623 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/57a5bde7-img_0969-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/57a5bde7-img_0969-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/57a5bde7-img_0969-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/57a5bde7-img_0969-340x340.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2019\/05\/57a5bde7-img_0969.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><em><span class=\"il\">Helia<\/span> Sehatpour is a volunteer with the Greenpeace Canada Toronto Local Group. She participates in non-violent direct action supporting different local, national and international environmental campaigns. <span class=\"il\">Helia<\/span> has a Bachelor\u2019s in Psychology, Gender Studies and Writing and she is now pursuing graduate studies in Environmental Psychology. She is currently exploring her own mindful and sustainable consumption.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"EmptyMessage\">Block content is empty. 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