Mr. Speaker, for nearly 50 years, communities along B.C.’s north coast have been working together to keep oil tankers out of our coastal waters. An oil spill here would damage our coastal economy and the world-renowned ecosystem of the Great Bear Rainforest. For first nations that have called the coast home for thousands of years, such a disaster is unthinkable.
In 1972, on a motion tabled by former Skeena MP Frank Howard, the House unanimously agreed that oil tankers on B.C.'s north coast were “inimical to Canadian interests especially those of an environmental nature”. That remains as true today as it was then. Tomorrow, we will again vote on this important question.
Since Bill C-229, which would repeal the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, was first tabled, I have heard from community leaders and residents across our region. In a matter of weeks, our petition received hundreds of signatures. On behalf of the people of northwest B.C., I ask that the House support a vibrant, sustainable future for our coast.