PETITION

WHEREAS:

-        There are close to 26,700 oil and gas wells on record, with more than half of them abandoned decades ago, with the vast majority located in Southwestern Ontario, including approximately 6,000 wells for which the province doesn’t have records or the records are incomplete;

-        These wells present a threat to the safety of persons, property, environment, and quality of life;

-        The recent explosion in Wheatley, Ontario in 2021 is a tragic reminder that the danger will only continue and get worse as more well caps corrode, loosen, are disrupted or find new passages to the surface;

-        The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has been underfunded, under-resourced and short-staffed for over a decade;

-        The Government of Canada has continued to remain unengaged in the issues of abandoned orphaned wells in Ontario;

-        Current regulation of the oil and gas industry is exposing Ontarians to health and environmental risks associated with contaminated drinking water wells and aquifers, and other hazards;

-        The role of government is to do for the people collectively what they cannot do themselves individually;

We, the undersigned, citizens or residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to develop, fund and maintain an orphan well program that would:

1.      Allocate specific funds and expertise to be allocated to research on more effective remediation options;

2.      Assemble an Orphaned Well Emergency Response Team and capacity;

3.      Jointly budget at least $300 million to reclaim at least 4,400 – 6,600 orphan wells that pose environmental and safety hazards for landowners and the public;

4.      Develop an awareness campaign and create a citizen’s guide to gas wells in Ontario;

5.      Work with the Assocation of Ontario Municipalities to develop a comprehensive provincial-municipal coordination response plan, complete with resources and protocols;

6.      Encourage the Province of Ontario to change their existing policy approach from "commentary but not advice" to providing provincial expertise in oversight, due diligence, and duty of care;

7.     Review the current obligation of addressing orphaned wells such that it is no longer the sole responsibility of the private property owner, in favour of finding a consistent, shared and sustainable remediation approach.