New Democrats call on Harper to legislate tanker ban

OTTAWA – Today, New Democrat MPs from British Columbia sent Stephen Harper a clear message that it is long past time to listen to overwhelming calls for a legislated North Coast tanker ban.

In a letter signed by every Opposition Member of Parliament from the province, New Democrats called on the Conservative government to honour a long-standing moratorium by legislating a ban on the transit of super tankers through Northern BC coastal waters.

“There is an overwhelming consensus on this issue and it only continues to grow,” said New Democrat Natural Resources critic Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley). “As New Democrats we stand beside the majority of First Nations, BC municipalities, and citizens groups in demanding a formal ban on crude oil tankers off the North Coast.”

The call for a ban was officially endorsed in October in resolutions passed by the Union of British Columbian Municipalities and by the First Nations Summit Chiefs Council, representing a majority of First Nations and non-First Nations communities in BC.

The necessary legislation has already been introduced in the House of Commons by New Democrat Fisheries critic Fin Donnelly (New Westminster-Coquitlam). Introduced in March, 2010 on the 21st anniversary of the sinking of the Exxon Valdez, Bill C-502 would prohibit bulk crude carriers in the Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait.

“We need to protect the natural ecosystem and the valuable marine resources which drive a multi-billion dollar fisheries and tourism economy,” said Donnelly. “This government keeps putting oil interests ahead of the interests of coastal communities.”

New Democrats have long led the fight in Parliament for a legislated ban with the first bill introduced in June 2008 by then-MP Catherine Bell (Vancouver Island – North).

“I don’t know how we could make it any clearer to this government,” said Cullen. “They are the only ones left on the wrong side of the issue.”