{"id":317653,"date":"2025-12-01T03:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T03:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/317653\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T03:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T03:32:09","slug":"b-c-premier-says-he-could-back-new-pipeline-if-tanker-ban-remains-in-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/317653\/","title":{"rendered":"B.C. Premier says he could back new pipeline if tanker ban remains in place"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Crude oil tankers docked at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C., on Nov. 19.Jimmy Jeong\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

B.C. Premier David Eby<\/a> says he would be prepared to talk with Alberta<\/a> and Ottawa about the prospect of a new oil pipeline<\/a>, but only if the existing ban on tanker traffic off his province\u2019s northern coast remains in place.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a> and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith<\/a> signed a memorandum of understanding last week that, among other things, includes a potential exemption to the north coast tanker ban if a bitumen pipeline is eventually approved.<\/p>\n

Mr. Eby has opposed lifting the tanker ban and also complained that he had been cut out of talks about the agreement. The Coastal First Nations, an alliance of nations on British Columbia\u2019s north coast, have condemned the agreement and said they intend to fight it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can agree that the oil tanker ban is going to stay in place, then let\u2019s have those conversations,\u201d Mr. Eby said in an interview with CTV broadcast on Sunday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that would make life a lot better and easier in British Columbia in terms of our relationship with Coastal First Nations. [It] would definitely take down the temperature and maybe enable some creative solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opinion: Ottawa risks billions in investments for a pipeline to nowhere<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Eby said scrapping the ban would be a \u201cgrave mistake,\u201d adding, \u201cI think that the risk of an oil spill is really significant in terms of the economic harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alberta has long advocated for an oil pipeline to the north coast, an idea that was rejected by the government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau when it blocked the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline nearly a decade ago. <\/p>\n

Ms. Smith has repeatedly called on Ottawa to repeal the tanker ban, and her province is now working with several companies on a potential proposal. The Alberta Premier has made it clear that her preferred route for a new pipeline would end on the north coast.<\/p>\n

Carolyn Svonkin, a spokesperson for federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, said in an interview Sunday that it\u2019s \u201cnot impossible\u201d to approve a pipeline while still maintaining the tanker ban \u2013 if the proposed route ends somewhere not covered by the ban, such as in the Vancouver region.<\/p>\n

She said the federal government plans to have talks with Alberta and B.C. on a path forward.<\/p>\n

Opinion: A pipeline is just the beginning: More threats coming for Indigenous rights<\/a><\/p>\n

Ms. Svonkin said that a route has yet to be decided for a potential pipeline. She added that \u201cformal and robust consultation\u201d with First Nations in northern B.C. would also take place. <\/p>\n

She said maintaining a tanker ban was potentially feasible if the pipeline\u2019s terminal is at a port where tankers are currently allowed, such as Trans Mountain Pipeline\u2019s Westbridge marine terminal in Burnaby, near Vancouver, which already handles crude oil exports.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlberta has been clear that they would like it to go from B.C.\u2019s north coast,\u201d Ms. Svonkin said. \u201cIn particular, Prince Rupert would be their stated preference.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she expected Alberta, as the federal government had done, had \u201cnoted the Premier\u2019s comments, and this will be a point of discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019ll be factoring it into their work as they proceed,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

Mr. Hodgson met with Mr. Eby on Friday.<\/p>\n

The B.C. Premier had previously expressed frustration about his province\u2019s exclusion from negotiations between the federal government and Alberta on the memorandum of understanding.<\/p>\n

Coastal First Nations in B.C. say they\u2019re prepared to challenge pipeline projects in court<\/a><\/p>\n

The agreement removes the oil and gas emissions cap, suspends clean electricity regulations and includes a commitment from Ottawa to enable the export of bitumen, a viscous oil product, from a deepwater port to Asian markets. The deal states this could include adjusting a 2019 law that prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 tonnes of oil from loading or unloading at ports along B.C.\u2019s northern coast. <\/p>\n

Ms. Smith\u2019s and Mr. Eby\u2019s offices did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The route of the proposed pipeline, which will not receive federal funding, is expected to provoke intense debate.<\/p>\n

Richard Masson, executive fellow at the University of Calgary\u2019s School of Public Policy and former chief executive officer of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, said maintaining the tanker ban could mean the pipeline going to Vancouver, rather than Prince Rupert or Kitimat, further up the coast.<\/p>\n

He said Prince Rupert\u2019s deepwater port is closer to both Edmonton and the Asian markets, and is less congested than the Vancouver port.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy understanding is that there are no other ports that could work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rather than a new pipeline, Mr. Eby has proposed increasing the amount of oil that could be shipped through the existing Trans Mountain pipeline. This could boost its capacity by about 40 per cent. The province has given the go-ahead for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to dredge the Second Narrows waterway to allow tankers to load more oil at the Trans Mountain marine terminal.<\/p>\n

Ms. Svonkin said the final decision about a potential route for a new pipeline would need to follow studies and conversations with First Nations. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do formal consultation on a project if you don\u2019t know what the route is,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Crude oil tankers docked at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C., on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44,714],"class_list":{"0":"post-317653","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}