Canada Passes Bills Against Oil Industry

Canada’s Senate passed last week two controversial bills restricting the movement of oil tankers off the northern coast of British Columbia and overhauling the assessment process for oil pipelines—bills which have pitted environmentalists and liberals against the oil industry and the neighboring oil-producing province of Alberta.
In a very close 49-46 vote, the senate passed the so-called Bill C-48 which prohibits oil tankers that are carrying more than 12,500 tons of crude oil or persistent oil as cargo from stopping, or unloading crude oil or persistent oil, at ports or marine installations located along British Columbia’s north coast from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border, Reuters reported.
Last month, the senate standing committee on transportation voted to defeat the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act that opponents of the bill view as damaging to Canada’s oil industry.
Alberta’s Premier Jason Kenny said that he was very disappointed that Bill C-48, the ban on Alberta energy exports, just narrowly passed in the senate by a vote of 49-46.”
“Thanks to senators who voted against this prejudicial attack on one province, Alberta, we will challenge this bill in court,” Kenney tweeted.
In another oil-related vote, the senate also passed, by a 57-37 vote, a bill to change the federal environmental assessment process for major construction projects, including oil pipelines.