Coastal First Nations leaders are fighting against a proposal to build an oil pipeline along British Columbia's northern coast — a project they say would destroy their way of life and cause irreversible damage to marine ecosystems that generate billions of dollars in economic value.
On Nov. 5, they issued a formal declaration with British Columbia Premier David Eby calling on the Canadian government to uphold the Oil Tanker Memorial Act. Formally approved in 2019, the act prohibits shipments of more than 13,780 tons of crude oil and other oil products between the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the Alaska border.
"For generations, communities have built and sustained the economy of the North Coast — a legacy that continues today through a multibillion-dollar, sustainable conservation economy that supports thousands of livelihoods in fisheries, tourism, renewable energy and stewardship," Coastal First Nations leaders and Eby wrote in their statement.
"Protecting our coast is not a barrier to economic prosperity — it is the source of it."
While Canada has not lifted the tanker ban, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's announcement that the province would commit $14 million in public funding toward a potential pipeline sparked fears that the federal government could back such a plan, according to Canada's National Observer. Prime Minister Mark Carney also hasn't publicly shut down the idea of the project.
His office and the Ministries of Transport and Energy, and Natural Resources Canada did not respond to the National Observer's request for comment before its publication deadline.
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For his part, Eby criticized the proposal as a foolish endeavor that has failed to attract private investors. Meanwhile, last year's $335 million agreement between 17 First Nations, Canada, and the province of British Columbia would support sustainable economic development.
Eby also pointed to the harms that crude oil spills exact on local ecosystems — and the communities that rely on their resources.
"This oil tanker exclusion zone recognizes that one crude oil spill would destroy billions of dollars in economic activity, would destroy the livelihoods of thousands of people and families up and down the coast. … There is no ability to clean up that spill," Eby told the National Observer.
In the U.S., one of the most notorious oil spills in the country's history, BP's Deepwater Horizon, is continuing to have lasting effects. One study showed the spill has caused continued disruptions in the marine food web, while cleanup workers report long-term health complications.
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"Protecting the North Coast is not an item for negotiation — it is a national responsibility, and it is a quantifiable investment in Canada's treasured marine environment and the economic prosperity of future generations," Coastal First Nations leaders wrote in their declaration.
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