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UPDATE – July 2, 10:00. Follow this announcement here for updates:
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will support a ban on tankers off British Columbia’s northern coast, killing any potential oil pipeline route into the region.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was among those who advocated exporting heavy oil to British Columbia’s north coast because of the region’s proximity to Asia and the presence of deep-water ports.
However, opponents of such projects believe the risks of a spill are too great for the marine environment, which has important ecological, environmental and economic values for people in the region.
Carney’s confirmation of the ban was part of a new multibillion-dollar cooperation agreement between Canada and British Columbia that he announced with Prime Minister David Eby in Vancouver on Thursday.
The agreement includes money for mining, forestry and improvements to the Massey Tunnel and the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.
WATCH | Carney says the tanker ban will remain in place:
Tanker ban on BC’s North Coast to remain in place: Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government intends to “maintain” the federal tanker ban on British Columbia’s north coast. At a news conference with British Columbia Premier David Eby, Carney said the moratorium would remain in place “consistent with” any proposed route for a new oil pipeline from Alberta.
“British Columbia is the linchpin—the gateway to a more prosperous, sustainable and inclusive Canada,” Carney said. “This agreement is comprehensive. It’s ambitious. And it will help transform the entire Canadian economy.”
Eby called the agreement a “landmark agreement for generations” that aims to “build the province we want… for future generations.”
The premier returned to British Columbia fresh from his first trade mission to China, where he promoted the province’s energy, agriculture and tourism industries.
Impact on pipeline proposal unclear
Later Thursday, Carney will travel to Calgary to join Smith for a speech on “proposed new energy infrastructure to diversify Canadian exports.”
Smith was due to provide an update on Alberta’s proposed million-barrel-a-day oil pipeline route through British Columbia after the July 1 deadline for her government to submit the proposal to the Office of Major Projects.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was scheduled to share an update Thursday on her government’s proposed West Coast pipeline. (CBC News)
It’s unclear how Thursday morning’s announcement will affect the proposal, but Eby said he recognizes British Columbia’s “constitutional role” and that it does not have the power to stop the pipeline.
“We will not go to court to challenge the pipeline project,” he said.
“Pipelines are under federal jurisdiction, which is why this agreement is so important: it ensures that the ban on northern tankers remains in place, and it ensures that if the pipeline is built, British Columbians will be fairly compensated for the environmental risks we will take on.”
WATCH | Eby says the province will not challenge the pipeline in court:
British Columbia ‘will not go to court to challenge pipeline project,’ Premier Eby says
Announcing the multibillion-dollar deal with Prime Minister Mark Carney, which includes Ottawa’s commitment to maintain a ban on oil tankers on the North Coast, British Columbia Premier David Eby said “we don’t have the power to stop a new pipeline.” It comes as Alberta is set to release more details on Thursday about a proposed pipeline to British Columbia’s west coast.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) states that British Columbia “shall meaningfully share” the economic benefits of the new pipeline, with mechanisms to be negotiated including an annual royalty payment and an environmental response fund.
The memo also said British Columbia recognizes Canada’s interests in “optimizing” the existing southern Trans Mountain Pipeline, increasing capacity to 1.2 million barrels per day, up from 890,000 barrels.
“It’s a Good Day”: Coastal Indigenous Peoples
The BC North Coast Coastal First Nations Initiative, an alliance of First Nations on B.C.’s north coast, has long opposed the pipeline, saying that during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Alberta and Ottawa, the countries would use “every tool in their toolbox” to keep oil tankers out of coastal waters.
WATCH | Understanding BC’s tanker ban:
What Politicians Are Wrong About B.C.’s Oil Tanker Ban
The federal government’s agreement with Alberta to move forward with a possible oil pipeline through British Columbia has drawn political attention to a ban on oil tanker construction on the North Coast. For The National, CBC’s Lindsay Duncombe explains how the ban works and where both sides of the political debate are getting it wrong.
Marilyn Slett, the elected head of the Heiltsuk Nation and president of the initiative, said the alliance would “never allow oil tankers on our coast” and that the pipeline project would “never come to fruition.”
“Today is a good day,” Slett said in prepared remarks after Thursday’s announcement. “The Great Bear Sea is no place for oil tankers.”
“Northwest British Columbia has already completed a third of the major projects announced last year, and many of them will significantly increase shipping traffic through the North Coast. Together, we can build a strong economic partnership, invest in the infrastructure needed to support safe and secure shipping, and protect our environment, creating long-term benefits for Canadians for generations to come,” she said.
She said countries would prefer to work with Ottawa on nation-building projects that are forward-looking and built in partnership with Indigenous peoples.
Money for the Port of Vancouver and the Massey Tunnel
Part of the new agreement includes $10 billion from Ottawa to upgrade the Roberts Bank Terminal at the Port of Vancouver, which Carney said will help boost exports from Canada.
The expansion will reduce the time cargo spends waiting to be shipped overseas, he said.
He also committed $3 billion to replace the George Massey Tunnel, upgrading the four-lane route along Highway 99 to eight lanes, which he said would allow more exports to travel through the Lower Mainland by road.
Traffic flows through the George Massey Tunnel on Highway 99 in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. (Frederic Gagnon/CBC)
Money is also being sent to the Port of Prince Rupert and Port Stewart in northern British Columbia to provide “vital trade corridors for Canada’s critical minerals and other resources,” along with a $500 million investment to expand the Red Chris copper mine in the province’s far northwest, as well as money for the North Coast Transmission Line under construction to send more power to the northwest.
Other aspects of the agreement include a reaffirmation of the desire to develop a liquefied natural gas industry in British Columbia for export overseas, development of wind turbine manufacturing in British Columbia, and increased protection of orca populations along the British Columbia coast.