End Oil Aid!
“Oil Aid” is the practice whereby the world’s wealthiest nations, including Canada, use precious development funds, tax breaks, and loan guarantees to subsidize the highly profitable oil and gas industry.
The Canadian oil industry turned a profit of $26.4 billion in 2007. Canada gave it some $1.4 billion in subsidies. The “Big Five” oil companies turned a global profit of US $123 billion in 2007. Export Development Canada, a government agency, supported $13.2 billion of overseas oil and gas projects, and the World Bank gave the
oil and gas industry $1 billion in financing.
Our frenetic consumption of fossil fuels and the tight relationship between governments and the oil industry means that Canada and other industrialized countries are providing oil aid to multinational corporations. Is this how public money should be spent?
In the race for oil, fragile ecosystems are placed at risk and Indigenous rights are violated from Ecuador to Indonesia to Canada. Oil conflicts rage from Colombia to Nigeria to Iraq. And greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, threatening vulnerable peoples the world over.
As consumers, we need to use far less energy and use it more efficiently. As citizens, we must ask our government to take action.
To learn more, watch our video “A Different Kind of Oil Crisis." Click here to order resources, including a copy of the video (PowerPoint and Flash) and "End Oil Aid" action cards.
