Alberta’s new premier says he will launch a constitutional challenge against a federal government bill to ban tankers off British Columbia’s northern coast if it goes ahead.
The Senate’s committee on transport and communications was in Edmonton on Tuesday for a public hearing on Bill C-48.
Premier Jason Kenney says the bill represents a grave threat to the economic interests of Alberta and Canada and it must be scrapped.
The bill would prohibit oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 tonnes of crude oil and related products in waters between the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the Alaska border.
The legislation passed in the House of Commons last spring and is being debated in the Senate.
READ MORE: Senate committee to hold public hearing in Edmonton on oil tanker ban Bill C-48
Senators on the committee said they are conflicted by testimony they’ve heard across the country.
Watch below (April 9): Rachel Notley told senators to throw Bill C-48, a bill that would ban oil tanker traffic off the northern coast of B.C., in the garbage. Sarah Kraus reports.
Leaders from several north-coast B.C. First Nations have previously testified that if the Senate doesn’t approve the bill, it would kill their thriving but fragile marine-based economies.
Senators heard similar concerns about the Alberta economy from Kenney and others who addressed the committee Tuesday.
“We believe it must be scrapped,” Kenney said in his opening statement to the committee.
He added that he won’t stand for the bill and will launch a constitutional challenge, because selecting one industry from one province is prejudicial.
Mayor Don Scott of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said the bill is divisive and would threaten national unity.
“It should never become law,” he said, explaining it would hurt both Fort McMurray and the oilsands in northern Alberta.
Chief Craig Makinaw of the Ermineskin Cree Nation said there’s a perception that all First Nations are against oil and gas development.
“There’s a lot of misinformation and fear mongering about having pipelines across your lands,” he said.
Makinaw said oil and gas has helped his First Nation become one of the most financially stable in the country, and noted he’s simply asking for a reasonable solution that works for both provinces.
“Don’t pick winners and losers,” he said. “Let’s find a way forward where we can all benefit.”
READ MORE: First Nations raising money to challenge federal government’s west coast oil tanker ban
Al Reid, executive vice president with Calgary-based Cenovus Energy Inc., testified that the bill would hurt the oil industry.
“To be truly internationally competitive, we need the economies of scale that come from access to northern B.C.’s deep water ports,” he said. “Unfortunately, Bill C-48 offers no pathway to reasonable compromise. It simply closes the door to Alberta’s primary export.
“We can do better than this legislation, which should be at a minimum allowing for regulated, safe oil shipping corridors.”
READ MORE: Federal bill to ban tanker traffic on B.C. North Coast, excluding LNG
Senator Paula Simons, who is from Edmonton, said she’s torn on how to handle the bill.
“On the one hand, we’ve been to Prince Rupert, we’ve been to Terrace, we’ve heard very emotional and powerful evidence and testimony from particularly First Nations and fisher people there who are desperate to protect their really beautiful territory,” she said.
“On the other hand, I am an Alberta senator and I am not sure that the government has made a scientific case for a ban that is this extensive.”
Watch below (April 9): Rachel Notley told senators to throw Bill C-48, a bill that would ban oil tanker traffic off the northern coast of B.C., in the garbage. Sarah Kraus reports.
Academics who addressed the committee said it would affect many aspects of Alberta’s oil industry, but noted it will be difficult for the federal government to come up with a win-win for both the province and B.C.
READ MORE: B.C. chief says a single major oil spill could ruin her nation’s economy forever
“It’s pretty blunt on what it is — it’s banning oil exports off the northwest coast of B.C.. So I don’t think there’s a political in-between there,” said Andrew Leach, an associate professor of economics at the University of Alberta. “Maybe a little bit of softening on the different refined products.
“At the end of the day, it’s pretty stark. It’s almost a yes or no. It’s a short bill. There’s not much to it.”
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