Oil companies should pay for cleaning up their mess

Re Oilpatch aid satisfies all — for now, Apr. 21

The federal government helping to fund cleanup of abandoned oil wells is a start on environmental restoration.

But the people who abandoned them must reimburse the taxpayers.

There is no excuse for letting wealthy people decamp, leaving a mess behind them for the other people of Canada to clean up.

Why are the middle class and low-income people being forced to foot the bill?

If the government really can’t find these superlitterers, they can add a surtax to the taxes of the rich (who are mostly the same people anyway).

If government really wants to help the workers, then fund groups such as Iron and Earth, who are retraining oil workers in the skills needed for green energy jobs.

Kate Chung, Toronto