Mr. Speaker, on May 11 I rose in the House to get a clear answer from the government respecting the Pacific north coast oil tanker ban in place since 1972. Instead, the minister talked about a plan for offshore oil and gas drilling. In response to subsequent questioning on the same matter, various ministers talked about drilling, and talked about a tanker exclusion zone, which is a completely different policy. At times they said yes and at times they said no. Their answers were very confusing. I had to wonder whether we were witnessing deception or incompetence on this issue.
The government finally acknowledged that it has absolutely no intention of honouring this important policy which has been protecting B.C. and north Pacific inland waters for 40 years.
The Liberals believe it is important to end the ambiguity. We have made a clear commitment to a permanent legislated ban on tanker traffic in the Pacific inland north coast waters. That would cover Douglas Channel, Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. This is a very important area to protect.
Supertankers can carry up to 140 million hectares of crude oil. There is a possibility of a major spill. Modelling shows a spill from a tanker at the wrong time of the year could foul the coastline from the northern tip of Vancouver Island up to Alaska. The habitat of birds, fish, herring, marine mammals and endangered species could be fouled by crude oil from a tanker spill. Human errors do happen. Spills do take place.
The Liberals believe it is important to be clear. We would not allow tanker traffic along that part of the coast. The leader of the Liberal Party stated, “Canada has the longest coastline in the world, and our quality of life is closely connected to our oceans. The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is a grim reminder that we must always be vigilant. While the Conservative government has left our coastal communities and oceans vulnerable, the Liberal Party is proposing innovative, decisive action that would make Canada a world leader in protecting our oceans and our coastal communities”.
This is an economic policy, not simply an environmental and social policy, respecting the wishes of all of the coastal first nations in that area.
I want to talk for a moment about jobs. Jobs and the economy always have been important to the Liberal Party of Canada. A proponent that has a project that would require supertanker traffic in that area has proposed that 560 long-term jobs could be created in British Columbia. That is important because jobs are important for that coastal area.
I want to point out that 100 times that many jobs would be at risk. In B.C.'s fishing industry, 26,000 jobs would be at risk. Thirty thousand jobs in B.C.'s burgeoning ecotourism sector depend on a healthy marine environment and those jobs would be put at risk by supertanker traffic in that area.
It is not acceptable to entertain that risk. We call on the Conservative government to join with the Liberals in supporting a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic. British Columbians would support a policy like that.
I appreciated having this chance to clarify my question to which I have received such poor answers in the past.