All over Canada, oil, gas, and mining companies have abandoned hundreds of thousands of toxic extraction projects. In Alberta alone, there are over 450,000+ oil and gas wells and 430,000+ kilometers of pipelines that will need to be cleaned up in the coming years. The problem is, there’s no deadline for them to do it.

“Polluter pays” is the principle that companies or people that pollute should pay the costs they impose on society. It’s a foundational principle in many of Canada’s environmental laws, but it’s usually only enforced after something terrible has happened and there’s been a long process to prove the company’s responsibility for the environmental damage. Sometimes, it’s not enforced at all. That leaves the public vulnerable to toxic pollutants and billions of dollars in cleanup costs. We want to change that.

There are thousands of unemployed fossil fuel workers who have the skills and experience to clean up this aging infrastructure. At The Leap, we know there are massive employment opportunities in healing the land.

We know our communities deserve better — and we have a plan.