Indigenous Group: First Nations in Northwest BC

Business: Alberta Oil and Gas companies

Issue: Banning oil tanker traffic along the BC coast north of Vancouver Island

Comment: Bill C-48: “An Act respecting the regulation of vessels that transport crude oil or persistent oil to or from ports or marine installations located along British Columbia’s north coast”.
June 17, 2019: Coastal First Nations: Great Bear Initiative – The Great Bear Rainforest is still largely intact due to special measures taken by both the federal and provincial governments. Bill C-48 will be complementary to these efforts, as well as the longstanding Voluntary Tanker Exclusion Zone Agreement between Canada and the United States. Unlike other coasts in Canada, there is no existing tanker traffic on the North Coast and formalizing the moratorium will not disrupt any existing jobs or economic activity in the region. It will help protect existing industries, including fisheries, aquaculture and eco-tourism. This issue has pitted province against province (primarily BC and Alberta) and Indigenous groups against Indigenous groups.

Last Update: June 21, 2019 – Bill C-48 receives Royal Assent. This Act prohibits oil tankers carrying crude and persistent oils as cargo from stopping, loading or unloading at ports or marine installations in northern British Columbia. It will provide a high level of protection for the coastline around Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. The moratorium area extends from the Canada/United States border in the north, down to the point on British Columbia’s mainland adjacent to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, and also includes Haida Gwaii. To ensure northern communities can receive critical shipments of heating oils and other products, vessels carrying less than 12,500 metric tonnes of crude or persistent oil as cargo will continue to be permitted to stop, load and unload in the moratorium area.