An opinion editorial titled “Oil tanker ban: Bill C-48 and environmental hypocrisy” by Martha Hall Findlay appears in the October 31, 2017 edition of the Globe and Mail. Findlay is the president and CEO of the Canada West Foundation, and a former Liberal Member of Parliament.
In her op-ed, Findlay provides thought-provoking arguments against Bill C-48, which would ban tankers carrying more than 12,500 tonnes (about 90,000 barrels) of crude oil or persistent oils (things such as fuel oils, partly upgraded bitumen, synthetic crude oils and No. 6 bunker fuel) from stopping, loading and unloading at any ports along B.C.’s north coast.
Some quotes from the piece:
- “Why a ban on specific tanker traffic along a specific section of Canada’s West Coast, when there are no similar bans on any traffic along any other Canadian coastline? What differentiates the northern West Coast from other Canadian shores? For example, both the north and south sides of the entire St. Lawrence River, where tankers travel regularly to bring oil from Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Nigeria? Is it because that oil means important jobs for refinery workers in Montreal, Sarnia and Quebec City?”
- “The main problem with this ban is that it would prevent Canadian oil from getting to Asian markets via, for example, the deep-water ports of Kitimat or Prince Rupert – and thus directly hurt the Albertan economy and Alberta jobs. It is, in large measure, the work of an anti-oil sands lobby run amok.”
- “The irony is that Canadian oil is now being produced with less GHG emissions per barrel than some that we import, and with much more stringent labour and other environmental regulations. On that basis alone, we should be encouraging the sale of Canadian oil to the world, not discouraging it.”
Additional reading:
