A group of fifteen organizations, including Ecology Ottawa, is calling on Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Ottawa City Council to ban fossil fuel promotion in City facilities.
City’s Finance and Corporate Services Committee meets on March 5 to discuss the City’s Corporate Sponsorship and Advertising policy, and Ecology Ottawa will be there giving a delegation supporting a ban on fossil fuel promotion. Currently, fossil-fuel companies are allowed to advertise in City facilities like arenas, parks, and City publications.
As Ecology Ottawa’s program coordinator William van Geest recently told CBC, the promotion of fossil fuels is “in direct conflict [with] the city’s commitments on climate and public health and equity.”
Permitting fossil-fuel promotion in City facilities contradicts the City’s commitments and its responsibilities for the well-being of Ottawans. The City already bans tobacco advertising because of its adverse health effects. Ecology Ottawa believes they should do the same with fossil-fuel promotion.
Find the letter and list of signatories here. Please contact your councillor to express your support for a ban!