Repealing B.C. tanker ban a ‘hypothetical question’ for now, federal energy minister says
OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson declined to say if the federal government would consider repealing the oil tanker ban on British Columbia’s north coast to make way for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s pipeline project pitch in a few months.
“It’s a hypothetical question right now, because there is no project before us,” Hodgson said on Friday on the margins of a battery investment announcement in Montreal.
Ottawa has been under pressure by the federal Conservatives, provinces and industry leaders to scrap some of its environmental regulations which they say have been stifling energy investments — while private businesses are building pipelines south of the border.
However, B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix said in a recent interview with National Post that the oil tanker moratorium has allowed the province the “social license” to develop liquified natural gas on the north coast.
“And secondly, of course, there’s the north coast itself. There’s a reason why the tanker ban was put in place to begin with. So, all of those are arguments we make,” he said.
Dix added the coastal First Nations have also made their position “clear.”
“There is no pipeline and oil tankers project or proponents that would be acceptable to us on the North Coast,” says Marilyn Slett, President of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative and Chief Councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, in an open letter in July.
“Anything that proposes to send crude oil through our coastal waters is a non-starter.”
Dix said the province should have the final word on laws that concern its north coast.
“Should British Columbians, coastal First Nations, residents of the region, people of B..C, the government of B.C., have a role in a decision that’s about British Columbia and its coast? Yes,” Dix said. “As should the 20 federal Liberal MPs from British Columbia.”
One of those MPs, speaking on a not-for-attribution basis to discuss their views more freely, admitted Hodgson’s comments on the tanker ban were not at all reassuring.
“No, it’s not, because it means that we might consider it, and if we’re going to consider it, then that’s a problem,” they said.
The B.C. Liberal MP said it would be safe to assume that they, and many others within caucus, would be asking for the government to clarify its position on the issue.
The federal government will soon have to decide if it includes Smith’s new proposal to build an oil pipeline to British Columbia’s coastline on its list of nation-building projects.
That step, however, would require lifting the tanker ban that has been in place since 2019.
Smith said she would like to see her project listed in the federal government’s next tranche of projects, set to be announced by mid-November. This week, she claimed that the actual proposal will only be ready to be submitted to the Major Projects Office in May 2026.
Hodgson said that the government will only consider Smith’s project once it meets the federal criteria set out for projects to be considered for more streamlined approvals.
That includes having a high likelihood of successful execution, advancing the interests of Indigenous peoples, strengthening Canada’s autonomy and resilience, providing economic benefits to the country, and showing “clean growth potential.”
“They don’t think they’re ready to do that until next spring,” said Hodgson.
“When they bring it forward, like every other project, at that point, we’ll take a look at where they are, and we’ll evaluate it at that time,” he said.
National Post calevesque@postmedia.com staylor@postmedia.com
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