Early this morning, Premier David Eby and several representatives of coastal First Nations communities have signed a declaration to uphold the 2019 North Coast tanker ban.
In essence, this ban prohibits tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of oil products from stopping, loading or unloading at ports along BC’s north coast, from the Alaska-BC border to the northern tip of Vancouver Island.
The ban applies to marine regions from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Canada-United States border, including Haida Gwaii, Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound.
Both Eby and many coastal communities fear the tanker ban will be repealed because Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is actively pushing for the ban to be lifted in order to build more pipelines.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has spoken on the matter, stating that lifting the tanker ban depends on the specific proposal.
The declaration states that for generations, coastal communities have been building and sustaining a multibillion-dollar, sustainable conservation economy, which includes fisheries, tourism, renewable energy and stewardship.
“Protecting our coast is not a barrier to economic prosperity—it is the source of it,” reads the declaration.
More than 1,400 permanent jobs and 140 new businesses to date have been created since the Great Bear Rainforest agreements, which could also be put in jeopardy if Premier Smith gets her way and builds a new pipeline.
These agreements were put in place to protect and conserve 85% of the forest and 70% of old growth in the Great Bear Rainforest and to create an economy based on conservation rather than exploitation and extraction.
Over the past 15 years, the Province says this conservation economy has generated nearly $2 billion in economic value for both BC and for Canada which invests back into communities, setting the foundation for ongoing prosperity.
“The oil tanker ban is the result of over 50 years of advocacy from First Nations and coastal communities, and supported by federal and provincial governments of all political stripes,” the declaration continues.
“Formalized into law in 2019, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act did not create this protection – it codified a longstanding commitment that has kept one of the most ecologically and culturally rich marine regions on Earth safe from the threat of crude-oil spills.”
According to the Province and the coastal First Nations who signed the declaration, if the tanker ban is repealed, this action would risk near-term major projects and cheat BC’s economy out of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments.
The consequences of a crude-oil spill in BC’s coastal waters would result in generations of lost livelihoods and irreversible ecological damage.
“We urge the federal government to stand firm in its commitment to uphold the tanker ban,” reads the declaration.
“Protecting the North Coast is not an item for negotiation—it is a national responsibility, and it is a quantifiable investment in Canada’s treasured marine environment and the economic prosperity of future generations.”
In addition to Premier Eby signing the declaration, leaders of the Coastal First Nations, Lax Kw’alaams, Haida Nation and Indigenous Tourism BC all signed as well.
