Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, is about protecting a remote an ecologically important place from the introduction of a risk that does not currently exist there, namely the introduction of bulk crude oil tanker traffic. Crude oil tankers do not ply BC north coast waters because of a half-century of regular and impassioned efforts by Indigenous nations, northern communities and supporters throughout BC and Canada.
This submission by West Coast Environmental Law Association offers useful context to the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications as it considers Bill C-48. The submission reflects on the history of the BC north coast oil tanker moratorium dating back to the 1970s, and looks at other examples of vessel prohibitions enacted by other jurisdictions around the world.