Transport committee  I would say that there are certain international law limitations to outright preventing tankers from transiting our coasts, which is what effectively these tankers would be doing.

Transport committee  As you'll know from reading the text of the bill, it talks about an identified oil tanker and it provides a test for when exemptions can be granted, which is predominantly to address problems with community or industry resupply. There is the broader test of the public interest, w

Transport committee  The way we'd foresee the enforcement regime working is that there are already marine safety inspectors in northern B.C. They have offices, for example, in Prince Rupert and I believe in some other communities. They board ships for a number of reasons to verify compliance with a

Transport committee  No. I believe that Transport Canada's marine safety division sees doing this as a regular part of their existing duties.

Transport committee  The way the bill is constructed, it tries to be, I suppose you could say, precautionary. For example, we have a reporting requirement so that vessels will report before they come. The hope is that we will prevent tankers that are not compliant with the moratorium from coming to o

Transport committee  I'm not a marine safety expert, but based on my understanding of the legislative regime, I would say that, generally speaking, the rules with respect to loading and unloading of barges and tankers are the same, yes.

Transport committee  Canada's rules with respect to oil tankers are largely set by the International Maritime Organization. They're set out in the international convention from which we draw the definition of crude oil. It's called “MARPOL” in its short form. These rules are negotiated at the IMO, an

Transport committee  The regulatory regime that governs oil tankers, which includes barges, is the same across the country.

Transport committee  I'm Gillian Grant. I'm senior counsel at Transport Canada legal services.