Ending tanker ban risks billions, B.C. minister says; Liberal MPs say consent needed

The battle over a potential oil pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. north coast is intensifying.

British Columbia’s jobs minister says ending a tanker ban on the province’s northern coast to service a pipeline from Alberta to B.C. would put billions of dollars’ worth of other projects at risk by defying the wishes of First Nations.

Ravi Kahlon says the province’s NDP government also remains opposed to the pipeline proposal, while B.C. Liberal MPs said Wednesday the tanker ban can’t change without provincial and First Nations consent.

The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday that the federal government, which is in talks with Alberta on the prospect of building a new pipeline, is considering allowing some tanker traffic on the northern B.C. coast.

But Kahlon said the B.C. government’s position was unchanged.

“(First Nations) don’t believe it’s in the interest of their region,” Kahlon said. “We made our position clear that we have billions of dollars of investments right now, real projects that are ready to go, and we don’t want to put any of those projects at risk.”

The provincial government has said the tanker ban guarantees a “fragile consensus” among First Nations when it comes to resource projects in northwestern B.C., and Kahlon said his government wants to push those projects across the finish line.

Kahlon also pointed out that the project, which Premier David Eby has called Alberta’s “imaginary pipeline,” still lacked a private sector proponent.

“So we continue to urge the federal government, if they want to increase the capacity (to ship oil), to look at the existing pipeline that the taxpayers of Canada already own, and support projects that are ready to go.”

Kahlon suggested his government may have been caught off guard by Wednesday’s report.

“I think it’s always better to have governments be open, and having conversations,” Kahlon said. “We are learning some of this stuff from the media.”

The Heiltsuk Nation also said in a statement that a potential memorandum on a carve-out to the tanker ban “could not come at a worse time,” and a ban is not a ban if it includes exceptions.

The First Nation in northern B.C. is currently responding to a sinking freight barge stacked high with shipping containers.

“This ongoing marine emergency shows once again that coastal First Nations are ground zero for the dangers of marine accidents, including oil spill, and we shoulder the burden of risk of expanded marine traffic,” it said.

Marilyn Slett, elected chief of the Heiltsuk Nation and president of Coastal First Nations, said she was “incredibly alarmed” to read about the “alleged negotiations” between Ottawa and Alberta.

“We have been very clear that we do not support this proposed project and Coastal First Nations, along with the province, have called on the federal government to uphold the tanker ban,” Slett said. “Any discussions around an exemption to the current ban on oil tankers triggers the honour of the Crown and requires our consent.”

Slett said it was time for Ottawa to talk directly with local First Nations, “instead of deliberately sidestepping” them.

Jonathan Wilkinson, a B.C. Liberal MP and a former federal environment minister, said that “a number of things” would need to happen before the tanker ban could change, including discussions with the B.C. government and coastal First Nations.

“The prime minister was pretty clear that the projects would need the support of the jurisdictions in which they’re being built. So I think there’s got to be some conversations with the premier,” Wilkinson said.

“In terms of First Nations, I mean, there needs to be significant support. It doesn’t necessarily have to be unanimous. It wasn’t in the case of Trans Mountain. But there needs to be significant support and at present I don’t think there is.”

Gurbux Saini, another B.C. Liberal MP, said before Wednesday’s weekly caucus meeting that “there will be no pipeline” unless First Nations and the B.C. government give their consent.

On his way into the caucus meeting, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he does not want to prejudge the outcome of the talks with Alberta.

Champagne’s response did not rule out the possibility of allowing tanker traffic on the northern B.C. coast.

“Canadians understand now the nexus between energy security, economic security and national security. I think people understand we live in a different world and I’m sure that with technology you can do that in a very responsible way,” Champagne said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office said in a statement Wednesday that it is in the final stages of a pipeline deal with Ottawa and “will have more to say soon.”

Smith has said that finding a company to spearhead a new pipeline would be easier if Alberta and Ottawa strike a deal.

Her United Conservative Party government earmarked $14 million last month to fund early regulatory work in hopes of attracting a private investor to take over as a proponent and First Nations to take ownership stakes.

In Ottawa, Alberta Liberal MP Corey Hogan called for a national conversation on resource development.

“So that’s what the prime minister and the premier of Alberta are talking about, is getting to an understanding on all of those things and making sure that we can grow our energy sector while also still being environmental stewards and getting to our net-zero goals,” Hogan said Wednesday.

Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin did not stop for questions on her way into the caucus meeting. Natural Resource Minister Tim Hodgson did not take questions on his way out of the meeting.

A statement from Hodgson’s office said his position on the future of the oil tanker ban has not changed. At press conferences and during several media interviews over the last month, Hodgson has said that questions about lifting the oil tanker ban are “hypothetical” because no pipeline is up for approval.

Ellis Ross, a B.C. Conservative MP whose riding includes the Port of Prince Rupert, said the talk of changes to the oil tanker ban is “interesting.”

“Canada has the constitutional authority to do this, and it’s quite interesting that the province of B.C. seems to feel they’re exempt from the constitutional accommodation duties of First Nations,” Ross said before question period Wednesday.

“If this project does take hold, there’s permits that B.C. will have to address, and so they’ll have to consult and accommodate First Nations as well.”

Ross said that while he hasn’t heard much discussion in his riding about the future of the tanker ban, that likely would change if a project description is filed with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he hopes Alberta and Ottawa can come to an agreement on a pipeline and allowing tankers on the coast, as it would benefit his province.

“We’d like to expand, for example, our potash exports over the next number of years. We want to grow more agricultural products, as well as expand our market access for oil,” Moe told reporters in Regina.

“That’s not in any way to (say) it’s going to be a free-for-all for tankers on the West Coast. It’s fully within reason to think that there would be work … so that there is a minimal impact to the environment.”

This report by Wolfgang Depner and David Baxter, The Canadian Press, was first published Nov 19. 2025.