Federal panel recommends harsher penalties for oil spills
Posted December 3, 2013 2:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – A government-appointed expert panel has made 45 recommendations for improving Canada’s preparedness for oil spills from tanker ships and barges.
Their 66-page report notes that two current pipeline proposals alone could bring another 600 tankers through British Columbia waters, while posing new hazards by transporting diluted bitumen and liquefied natural gas.
Provincial New Democrat Spencer Chandra Herbert argues the report shows we currently can’t respond properly to a spill. “As much as the minister may want to claim this is just a great step and will allow future exports of oil, to me it confirms British Columbians’ worst fears.”
The study recommends faster emergency response times to spills, removing the current $161 million liability limit per spill, annual training exercises, and regional risk assessments based on local geography.
According to the experts, current planning is “particularly lacking” in the area of cleaning and rehabilitating oiled wildlife and the management of the oily waste from spill recoveries.
And they are recommending increased resources for the Coast Guard, Environment Canada and Transport Canada to help improve the system.
Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver welcomed the report at a news conference in Vancouver, where Raitt says tanker safety is “simply common sense.”
Ottawa isn’t saying if it will adopt the recommendations, but Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver insists no project will be given the go-ahead unless it is safe. “Our committment to Canadians is clear. Our standard is world-class safety for the transport of our natural resources, whether by pipeline, rail, or tanker.”
