Coastal First Nations celebrates tanker ban protection in BC-Ottawa deal

VANCOUVER — Coastal First Nations, a coalition representing multiple First Nations on British Columbia’s North and Central Coast, welcomed Thursday’s federal-provincial commitment to uphold the North Coast oil tanker ban, calling it a reaffirmation of long-standing protections for one of the world’s most productive cold-water marine ecosystems.Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative and elected chief of the Heiltsuk Nation, said the pledge, included in the major projects agreement announced earlier in the day by Premier David Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney, recognizes what coastal nations have always known.“The Great Bear Sea is no place for oil tankers,” Slett said in a statement and during a media call. “There is no technology that can clean up an oil spill at sea, and a single oil spill could destroy our way of life.”The coalition noted the tanker ban is the product of more than 50 years of advocacy by First Nations and northern communities along the British Columbia coast. Slett further said the commitment is "not about blocking Alberta’s access to markets but about keeping the region free from crude oil tankers.".“Our nations have signed our own declaration in 2010, and signed a more recent North Coast Protection Declaration with the province in 2025,” she said. “We are happy that both governments have once again recognized what we have always known.”Chief Gaagwiis of the Haida Nation, vice-president of Coastal First Nations, said the announcement signals partnership and protection for economic livelihoods, culture and the region’s role as steward of one of the last remaining temperate rainforests on Earth.“Today’s announcement is just such an important signal of partnership, and protection for our economic livelihoods, our culture, and our responsibility to keep stewarding this area,” Gegwis said. Chief Gaagwiss, who also goes by Jason Alsop, said the Coastal First Nations group was not "directly involved" in negotiating the memorandum of understanding between Victoria and Ottawa but had "held discussions with both governments on maintaining the tanker ban and protecting marine integrity." While welcoming the ban’s inclusion, speakers noted gaps remain, including in Hecate Strait and along parts of the north and central coast where some tanker transits are still possible. They said a voluntary 15-nautical-mile exclusion zone exists off the west coast and that closing remaining gaps would bring "greater clarity."The coalition also flagged rising shipping pressure from LNG projects and other major developments, citing projections of a 217% Increase in Canada-to-Asia shipping and up to 450% growth on some LNG routes, adding more than 1,000 vessels annually. The group nonetheless expressed gratitude to Eby for his “steadfast support” of the moratorium and to Carney for meeting with them, describing the day’s announcement as a positive step while emphasizing that implementation and enforcement of marine protections must continue.

Coastal First Nations celebrates tanker ban protection in BC-Ottawa deal

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