TERRACE, B.C. – The B.C. government and coastal First Nation leaders have signed a powerful declaration, formally calling on the federal government to uphold the existing moratorium on oil tankers along the North Coast.
The declaration was signed by Premier David Eby on Wednesday, November 5, at the First Nations Leaders’ Gathering in Vancouver. The move is a direct response to months of lobbying by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to resurrect plans for an oil pipeline that would terminate on B.C.’s North Coast. Such a project would require the federal government to end the ban on oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil in the region.
“We call on the federal government to recognize what generations of leaders have: We need to protect our coasts in order to grow our economy,” Premier Eby said.
Representatives of area First Nations have been firm in their opposition to ending the ban. Chief Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations—a group representing six area nations—emphasized that upholding the ban is crucial for the entire country.
“We are here today with the province of British Columbia to call on the federal government to commit to upholding the oil tanker moratorium act to protect our ecosystems and to grow our coastal economy for the benefit of all British Columbians and for all Canadians, from coast to coast to coast,” Chief Slett stated.
The federal Oil Tanker Moratorium Act prohibits oil tankers carrying crude or persistent oils from stopping or unloading at ports along the North Coast of British Columbia, including Haida Gwaii and the surrounding areas. The declaration signals a unified provincial and Indigenous commitment to maintaining environmental safeguards for the region’s sensitive marine environment.
