TANKER BAN – Tell Transport Canada: We want a permanent and legislated oil tanker ban on BC’s north coast! Engagement closes September 30, 2016

September 16, 2016 by welovethiscoast Leave a comment

NO Enbridge!!!!       NO Enbridge!!!!         NO Enbridge!!!!         NO Enbridge!!!!

Friends of Wild Salmon

Transport Minister Marc Garneau recently confirmed that the federal government will be formalizing the Pacific north coast oil tanker moratorium within the next few months. Transport Canada has set up a website for the public to submit comments on the key issues to be addressed in the oil tanker moratorium.

Friends of Wild Salmon has heard that industry is pushing for no tanker ban at all, so comments from the public calling for a legislated, comprehensive and legislated moratorium are incredibly important. 

Comments will be accepted until September 30, 2016. You will need to register in order to submit a comment, which simply involves entering your name, email address and the first three characters of your postal code, as well as creating a password.

Transport Canada has released a discussion paper that considers some of the issues. West Coast Environmental Law has published a FAQ document that outlines their views on the key aspects of the oil tanker ban. West Coast’s key points boil down to the following:

• The oil tanker moratorium must be legislated by an Act of Parliament.
• The legislated oil tanker moratorium must not contain a sunset clause or expiry date.
• The legislated oil tanker moratorium must at minimum apply to all of Hecate Strait, Dixon Entrance and Queen Charlotte Sound, as set out by the Prime Minister in the Mandate Letter of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
• The legislated oil tanker moratorium must comprehensively prohibit ships carrying oil in bulk as cargo, while allowing necessary shipments of fuel to coastal communities.

See government website here

Crude oil tanker moratorium

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 A voluntary Tanker Exclusion Zone (TEZ), in place since the 1980s, has protected the West Coast from loaded oil tankers transiting from Alaska to the continental U.S. The Government of Canada has taken other important steps towards protecting the marine environment, such as mandatory double hulls for tankers and compulsory pilotage areas where pilots come aboard ships to guide them through challenging waterways. The Government now aims to formalize a crude oil tanker moratorium on British Columbia’s north coast.

We invite you to share your ideas about how we can formalize a moratorium to protect our waters and coastlines without losing economic benefits from shipping. You can read about Shipping in Canada, Canada’s Marine Safety System and considerations on a moratorium in our Discussion Paper.

What do you believe are the most important issues the Government should address in its plan to formalize a crude oil tanker moratorium?   Submit you comments here!