LOCATION: National
Issue/Source: N/A
Date: June 2025
Suggested Response
- In Saskatchewan, first ministers agreed that Canada must work urgently to get Canadian natural resourcesand commodities, such as critical minerals and decarbonized Canadian oil and gas, to domestic and international markets.
- This government is committed to working with all provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous peoples to advance projects that drive Canadian productivity growth, energy security and economic competitiveness, while also ensuring that the environment is protected.
IF PRESSED
- No specific project has yet been proposed that would require the movement of crude or persistent oils in the moratoriam area.
- The Act does not impact the movement of many other types of products, including gasoline, naphtha, jet fuel, propane and liquified natural gas (LNG).
For example, the LNGCanada project in Kitimaat, B.C., has made important progress and is expected to begin export this year. Cedar LNG has also announced a positive final investment decision regarding their project in Kitimaat, B.C. and the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility in Prince Rupert, B.C., is under construction.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- The Oil Tanker Moratorium Act (the Act), received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019. It prohibits vessels carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil or persistent oil products as cargo from stopping, loading or unloading at ports or marine installations in the moratorium area.
- The moratorium covers the area from the Canada/United States border in the north, down to the point on British Columbia’s mainland across from the northern tip of Vancouver Island. It also includes Haida Gwaii. It protects the waters of Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. This measure complements the existing voluntary Tanker Exclusion Zone, which has been in place since 1985.
- Shipments of less than 12,500 metric tonnes are allowed to ensure north coast communities and industries can receive critical shipments of heating oils and other petroleum products.
- The Act is grounded in a precautionary approach that targets crude oil and a range of persistent oil products that are likely to remain longest in the environment if spilled.
- Crude oil is defined in the Act and is based on the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, and International Maritime Organization convention. Persistent oil products that are subject to the moratorium are identified in a schedule to the Act that uses the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds’ internationally recognized definition of persistent oils. These oils are heavier, and when spilled, tend to break up and dissipate slowly, staying longer in the environment.
- Examples of products included in the Schedule are partially upgraded bitumen, synthetic crude oil, petroleum pitch, slack wax and bunker C fuel oil.
- The Act does not impact the movement of non-persistent oils, including gasoline, naphtha, jet fuel, propane and liquified natural gas, or other alternative fuels (e.g. hydrogen, ammonia and methane) which tend to dissipate more rapidly through evaporation.
- Extensive consultations were conducted with Indigenous groups and coastal communities on the Act, including all Indigenous groups along the north and central coast of British Columbia that expressed an interest in the moratorium.
- Indigenous groups and provinces were divided on the issue of the moratorium. Some Indigenous groups were in favour of the moratorium, as they view the environmental protection it provides as critical. Other Indigenous groups were not in favour, as they viewed it as an impediment to economic development opportunities in the region.
In March 2025, CEOs of Canada’s largest oil and gas companies wrote an open letter stating that the West Coast Tanker ban is impeding development. In addition, the Premier of Alberta has also been vocal about the need to repeal the legislation.