Outdated and irrelevant data block offshore development

John Winter
Vancouver Sun
Monday, July 10, 2006

The recent debate regarding oil tanker traffic in British Columbia waters and the impact this could have on the proposed Enbridge pipeline project has once again focused attention on the lack of public awareness of the nature of the "moratoria" that are currently affecting the economic development opportunities for coastal communities.

While there is no scarcity of opinion and emotion, all too often the rhetoric is characterized by a scarcity of fact and objectivity. It is time that some clarity was brought to these issues.

There is no federal legislation or even an order-in-council that gives legal effect to a "moratorium" on either tanker traffic or more importantly offshore oil and gas exploration. Regardless, an effective moratorium exists in that the federal government will not process permits for offshore oil and gas exploration and development activities.

The refusal is based on a decades-old directive from David Anderson in his former capacity as federal minister of environment. The federal government has jurisdiction in most of the areas (navigation, fisheries, environment, etc.) off the coast of B.C. that have oil and gas potential, and federal permits or authorizations are required to carry out exploration and development work in those areas. So the reality is that there is a federally imposed moratorium off the coast of B.C.

While it must be noted that there is also a provincial "moratorium," the provincial government has been clear that, as soon as the federal government moves to lift the moratorium, it will do the same.

No other Canadian province with offshore oil and gas potential suffers from any such provincewide restriction. It is a fact that oil and gas exploration, development and production activities are permitted in the Atlantic off the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and in Lake Erie in Ontario. Prince Edward Island drilled the first offshore well in 1946. Quebec is drilling on Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is expected to drill offshore soon. Those activities have been conducted safely even in the seas off Atlantic Canada despite the threats of hurricanes and icebergs.

It is time British Columbians stood up and asked why they are being deprived of the potential economic and employment windfall.

Anderson's tanker directive was issued for political reasons as part of an effort to persuade the Americans not to ship Alaskan oil to Washington State through the Inside Passage. This initiative was not in any way founded upon specific scientific data that raised concerns about the ability of oil and gas companies to conduct exploration and development activities off the coast of B.C.

A B.C. government scientific panel reported in 2002 that "there is no inherent or fundamental inadequacy of the science or technology, properly applied in an appropriate regulatory framework, to justify a blanket moratorium on offshore oil and gas activities."

Of course, Ottawa was right to be concerned regarding oil tanker traffic in coastal waters. Tankers are historically the "bad boys" from the days of single hulls and single propellers and there are numerous well-known examples of oil spills from tankers. Nevertheless, the federal government did not impose any legal ban on oil tanker traffic.

The ironic result is that we have a scientifically unsupported "moratorium" on oil and gas exploration, but no legal ban on oil tanker traffic in B.C. waters. In fact, oil tankers pass through our waters every day even if the Americans have voluntarily elected not to ship their oil through certain designated channels off the west coast of B.C.

No responsible person should suggest that oil tanker traffic is comparable to the exploration, development or production of oil from undersea wells. These activities are vastly different. Their respective environmental risks and track records are poles apart.

Unfortunately, those opposed to offshore oil and gas exploration are fond of referring to irrelevant and decades-old tanker spills to generate public fear and funding for their efforts to stifle constructive debate.

Now, we need to ask whether oil and gas exploration off the coast of B.C. can be conducted safely in a manner that will protect the marine environment we all cherish.

If the answer is Yes, we should proceed, doing so under a comprehensive set of science-based regulations that will ensure that best industry practices are implemented.

John Winter is president and CEO of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006