{"id":359453,"date":"2025-11-06T09:08:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T09:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359453\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T09:08:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T09:08:37","slug":"b-c-asks-ottawa-to-retain-north-coast-tanker-ban-blocking-albertas-pipeline-ambitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359453\/","title":{"rendered":"B.C. asks Ottawa to retain north coast tanker ban, blocking Alberta\u2019s pipeline ambitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

LNG Canada’s export facility in Kitimat, B.C. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith plans to ask Ottawa for permission to build a pipeline to B.C., which would require rolling back the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act.Jesse Winter\/Reuters<\/p>\n

B.C. Premier David Eby and leaders of coastal First Nations signed a declaration Wednesday calling on Ottawa to retain its current ban on oil tankers off of the province\u2019s north coast. <\/p>\n

That ban, if continued, would effectively block Alberta\u2019s bid for a new oil pipeline to British Columbia\u2019s northern ports.<\/p>\n

The event was designed to underscore what Mr. Eby has described as a \u201cfragile consensus\u201d<\/a> that is allowing his province to develop a liquefied natural gas industry worth tens of billions of dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of this work is looking at the overall cumulative impacts of all shipping,\u201d Haida Nation president Gaagwiis (Jason Alsop) said at the news conference Wednesday.<\/p>\n

With a growing number of LNG tankers already plying the waters off of Haida Gwaii\u2019s 5,000 kilometres of shoreline, Gaagwiis said his community has no stomach for oil tanker traffic.<\/p>\n

Earlier: Alberta\u2019s pipeline pursuit could erode Indigenous support for infrastructure projects, First Nations leader says<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re already accommodating this global trade and this global economy and bearing a lot of those risks already,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The B.C. government has repeatedly called on Ottawa to rebuff Alberta\u2019s demand that the oil tanker ban be rescinded. But Prime Minister Mark Carney has not provided a clear answer. \u201cIt depends,\u201d he told reporters last month.<\/p>\n

Coastal First Nations are now backing Mr. Eby\u2019s push for a definitive commitment.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, LNG Canada Phase 1 went into production. It is Canada\u2019s single biggest private-sector investment to date. A final investment decision is pending on Phase 2.<\/p>\n

Two other LNG projects are already under construction in B.C.: Woodfibre LNG, near Squamish, and Cedar LNG, in Kitimat.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The floatel at the Woodfibre LNG site southwest of Squamish, B.C. Though LNG support is uneven among B.C. First Nations, Coastal First Nations President Marilyn Slett says there is agreement to monitor the development’s marine traffic.Tijana Martin\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

In September, the province granted an environmental assessment certificate for Ksi Lisims LNG. That export project is backed by the Nisga\u2019a Nation, but has been disputed by two other nations, including the Lax Kw\u2019alaams Band.<\/p>\n

Mayor Garry Reece of the Lax Kw\u2019alaams joined Wednesday\u2019s news conference to support the oil tanker ban. \u201cMy people will never, ever agree to allow oil in our territory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While support for LNG development among First Nations is uneven, Heiltsuk Chief Marilyn Slett said there is agreement to monitor the marine traffic associated with the development of LNG. Ms. Slett is president of the Coastal First Nations, which represents nine First Nations whose traditional territories line the north Pacific coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work together with the province and Canada on our concerns,\u201d she told the news conference. \u201cWe will always monitor what happens in our territories, but today, we are here to affirm our position on the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Mason: In the national pipeline debate, hypocrisy knows no bounds<\/a><\/p>\n

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith plans to make an application to the federal government to build a new pipeline that would carry oil to a Northern B.C. port. To make that work, she wants Ottawa to sweep aside \u201cnine bad laws,\u201d including the north coast oil tanker ban.<\/p>\n

Mr. Eby told reporters that the economics of a possible Alberta oil pipeline to the west coast do not outweigh the projects already under way in Northwestern B.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting our coast is not a threat to the Canadian economy. It is, in fact, a strategy for the Canadian economy,\u201d he said. \u201cOne crude oil spill would destroy billions of dollars in economic activity, would destroy the livelihoods of thousands of people and families up and down the coast, and there is no technology, no ability to clean up that spill.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Eby government has supported a project to expand oil shipments off the south coast. <\/p>\n

Campbell Clark: Alberta gets oil pipeline politics bouncing again<\/a><\/p>\n

Federally owned Trans Mountain is unable to fill Aframax-class oil tankers to capacity at its Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby because of the constraints of navigating through the Second Narrows in Burrard Inlet. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is leading a proposal to dredge a section of the waterway to allow Trans Mountain to ship more oil.<\/p>\n

Mr. Eby, who opposed the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, said support for the dredging is a necessary trade-off as Canada seeks to diversify its economy in the face of trade wars with the United States and China.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis calls for, and will require, an expansion of shipping to Asia across the Pacific,\u201d he said. \u201cThat brings with it a responsibility and obligation on the provincial and federal governments to work with these coastal First Nations leaders to mitigate any harms to the coast.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: LNG Canada’s export facility in Kitimat, B.C. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith plans to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":359454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2147,50,4741],"class_list":{"0":"post-359453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-pleasemod"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115501970391623673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}