Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps has accepted an invitation to tour the Alberta oilsands.
The invitation was issued after Victoria council endorsed a potential class-action lawsuit by B-C municipalities targeting oil and gas companies, and looking for compensation for environmental damage.
Calgary Councillor Ward Sutherland used social media to issue the invitation to come to Fort McMurray and see firsthand how the industry operates.
Helps says she will go with an open mind:
" I hope to learn more about the industry. I mean I hear a lot about the sustainable practises that the oilsands are undertaking, so I want to learn more about that. And I really think it's important, particularly on complex issues, to have a broader perspective and keep an open mind."
Sutherland says his goal is to educate and advocate, which appeals to Mayor Helps who says maybe Victoria can bring Sutherland here to learn about our environmental concerns:
" I am a firm believer in city-to-city diplomacy. I've had lots of conversations in my time as mayor, visited lots of city for the purposes of learning what happens there. We have sister city relationships with cities in Japan and China and so on. So absolutely, I mean I really look at this as a relationship building opportunity. I'll go there, and maybe councillor Sutherland and some of his colleagues will come here."
Helps says she will go with an open mind. The trip is scheduled for April 26th.