City sets up tanker speed bump
Council motion requires oil-spill insurance but federal law already covers it
A battle between Big Green and Big Oil kicked up a notch Wednesday as Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson’s council passed a motion slamming a “radical proposal” to increase oil-tanker traffic through Burrard Inlet.
Robertson’s motion — requiring pipeline operators and oil tankers operating in Vancouver to carry enough liability insurance to cover the cost of any spill — was only opposed by NPA Coun. George Affleck.
However, the motion may be redundant, considering Canada’s polluter-pay principle that makes the polluter liable for all response costs associated with a spill.
The motion came in the wake of Kinder Morgan’s plan to increase the daily capacity of its oil pipeline from Alberta to the Lower Mainland from 300,000 barrels to 850,000.
As a result, the number of tankers in Vancouver’s harbour could go up five-fold.
Robertson argued that the city’s green “brand” and thousands of related jobs don’t mesh with plans to pump Alberta crude oil through the port, to markets in Asia.
“This is a radical proposal to increase oil shipments through our port and imperil our environment and jobs,” Robertson said.
Vision Vancouver Coun. Tony Tang said: “As city councillors, we can’t sit here and hide our heads in the sand
As city councillors, we can’t sit here and hide our heads in the sand -- in this case, the tar sand -- and hope everything will be all right.
— Coun. Tony Tang
— in this case the tar sand — and hope everything will be all right.
“Vancouver won’t receive any economic benefit, but we will be burdened with a tremendous, irreversible risk.”
But Affleck attacked Robertson for overstepping both a period of consultation with Kinder Morgan and the federal review process.
“What right do we have to make a knee-jerk decision?” he said.
“I’m voting no, because there is so much to be heard on this issue before making a rash decision.”
With Robertson’s vision for Vancouver in addition to B.C.’S strong environmental movement on one side — and Alberta’s economic interests and the federal government’s resource strategies on the other — it appears a major political debate with dramatically opposed visions for B.C.’S future is shaping up.
Vision Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs said: “This is a very important debate involving two different views about how the planet and the economy will unfold.”
Meanwhile, the federal Marine Liability Act requires that shipowners must be insured and are liable for reasonable response costs, losses and damages, according to Transport Canada.
Shipowners must also have a preexisting agreement with a local oilspill response company.
Commercial shipowners are also covered against third-party liabilities through insurance.
Should a shipowner not be able to cover the costs of a spill, there are also two funding sources to assist in paying: a Canadian Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund and an international compensation fund.