Liberal bill will bar oil tanker traffic from northern BC coast
Posted May 12, 2017 2:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – New legislation introduced by the federal government will bar most oil tankers from operating along the coast of northern British Columbia.
Transportation Minister Marc Garneau has introduced the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act in the House of Commons.
It will ban tankers carrying crude oil and persistent oils from stopping, loading or unloading at any ports or marine installations from the northern tip of Vancouver Island all the way to the
BC-Alaska order, including Haida Gwaii.
The legislation fulfills a pledge made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last fall, when he also kiboshed the Northern Gateway pipeline project, saying northern BC was no place for oil tanker traffic.
Tankers carrying less than 12,500 metric tonnes of oil are exempt, to ensure northern communities can continue to receive shipments of necessary fuels.
Penalties for defying the ban are as high as $5 million.
