Good afternoon.
My name is Marilyn Slett. I am the chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, which is the elected leadership for the Heiltsuk First Nation.
Heiltsuk would like to thank the committee for this opportunity to talk about the proposed oil tanker moratorium act. Heiltsuk people have lived on the central coast of B.C. and harvested marine resources for thousands of years. Archeological evidence dates our fisheries back 14,000 years. Harvesting is central to our health and well-being, and it lies at the heart of our culture. We depend on the fish and the health of their waters.
A recent spill of 110,000 litres of diesel and lubricant oils into the waters of one of our major harvesting sites has been devastating for the Heiltsuk. That was only the bunker fuel from the tug, and not the cargo of the attached barge, which thankfully was empty at the time.
The consequences of a larger spill, especially in a major harvesting area, are unfathomable, given the harm caused by the recent spill.
Heiltsuk supports the tanker moratorium act and recognizes the importance of protecting the coast from oil spills. However, speaking for indigenous communities that will be most impacted by a large oil spill, the measures can and should be strengthened.
Heiltsuk has two propositions for the proposed act, and a third concern, about the breadth of the ministerial power to exempt tankers under section 6, is set out in our brief.
First, we understand that the bill has to allow for international traffic through Canada's territorial waters. As people who live on the sea, we understand the safety concerns that explain why the sea traffic would prefer the more sheltered waters of the Inside Passage. However, some of these areas in the internal waters are vital ecological areas that would be among the worst possible places in terms of oil spill impacts.
Heiltsuk proposes that the bill create a power of government to create regulations that could restrict where tankers of different sizes may go, or set limits or conditions on their travel. This would allow the government, after proper study and consultation, to decide where traffic should continue for vessels of different sizes and cargo, and where regulation should restrict traffic for safety reasons or to protect sensitive ecological areas.
This regulation would allow for a flexible approach to tanker traffic controls as the oceans protection plan develops, as environmental regulations are put in place or improved, and as spill response technology advances.
Heiltsuk proposes that the power be a broad one, so that the regulations may include financial obligations on tankers and owners that elect to use certain passages.
Heiltsuk proposes wide powers because its experience with the Nathan E. Stewart spill has highlighted gaps in the law, which Heiltsuk hopes these regulations will eventually fill. These gaps include the lack of any duty of a “cruder” to perform or pay for impact assessments that are necessary for anyone to actually measure and understand how the spill has affected a complex ecological system.
The financial risk should be borne by the business that choses to conduct their business in our waters, not by indigenous communities and B.C. taxpayers. The context of any no-go zones and any limits or conditions would be for later study and consultation. Heiltsuk is only proposing at this point that the bill include a wide power for the government to regulate tankers along the north coast.
Second, Heiltsuk proposes that the coastal first nations have access to tanker information required by this bill. It proposes a power of government to create regulations that may address access by first nations or the public to information about tankers that sail in our traditional waters.
Again, the content of such regulations should be for later consultation in a nation-to-nation approach, which the government has affirmed would make information-sharing appropriate, but for now, Heiltsuk proposes that only the bill include such a power. It would be a good step forward around shared marine management.
This bill is an opportunity for Canada to implement its commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to the 10 nation-to-nation principles. In the big picture, this is one step towards reconciliation, but for Heiltsuk, this bill has the potential of being a part of a family of marine legislation that prevents another devastating oil spill in our territory.
Giaxsixa. Thank you.