Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, along with other Opposition MPs, has asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to repeal British Columbia’s northern coast oil tanker ban.
The Story
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to repeal the oil tanker ban on British Columbia’s northern coast, according to a letter signed by Poilievre and other Opposition MPs.
The MPs say the tanker ban “effectively donates” billions of dollars to the United States by forcing Canada to sell discounted oil that would profit American refineries.
The letter points to a proposal by Calgary-based Strathcona Resources to ship up to 250,000 barrels of Canadian oil a day on existing railroad tracks through Prince Rupert, B.C., and across the Pacific Ocean.
The MPs argue the federal government is the only obstacle to considering the Strathcona proposal, which they say would require lifting the tanker ban.
The request comes months after Prime Minister Mark Carney and then–B.C. Premier David Eby signed an agreement in July that included a promise by Ottawa to maintain the north coast tanker ban “without alteration, suspension, or narrowing of scope.”
The letter also indicates the Opposition would be open to discussing amendments to the ban that would allow the Prince Rupert project to proceed.
The story also notes that after Carney signed the deal with B.C., Alberta formally submitted a pipeline proposal to the major projects office, using a southern route that would follow the Trans Mountain pipeline path from Bruderheim, Alta., to an export terminal in Delta, B.C.
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