Transport Minister Marc Garneau recently confirmed that the federal government will be formalizing the Pacific north coast oil tanker moratorium within the next few months. Transport Canada has set up a website for the public to submit comments on the key issues to be addressed in the oil tanker moratorium.

Friends of Wild Salmon has heard that industry is pushing for no tanker ban at all, so comments from the public calling for a legislated, comprehensive and legislated moratorium are incredibly important. 

Comments will be accepted until September 30, 2016. You will need to register in order to submit a comment, which simply involves entering your name, email address and the first three characters of your postal code, as well as creating a password.

Transport Canada has released a discussion paper that considers some of the issues. West Coast Environmental Law has published a FAQ document that outlines their views on the key aspects of the oil tanker ban. West Coast’s key points boil down to the following:

• The oil tanker moratorium must be legislated by an Act of Parliament.
• The legislated oil tanker moratorium must not contain a sunset clause or expiry date.
• The legislated oil tanker moratorium must at minimum apply to all of Hecate Strait, Dixon Entrance and Queen Charlotte Sound, as set out by the Prime Minister in the Mandate Letter of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
• The legislated oil tanker moratorium must comprehensively prohibit ships carrying oil in bulk as cargo, while allowing necessary shipments of fuel to coastal communities.