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Posted March 04, 2005
Liberal minority stalls decision on B.C. offshore oil exploration, says mayor
Canadian Press, Tuesday, March 01, 2005
By Dirk Meissner
VICTORIA (CP) -- The minority Liberal government in Ottawa is stalling the
development of a potential multi-billion offshore oil resource off British
Columbia's north coast, the mayor of Prince Rupert said Tuesday.
Herb Pond told a B.C. Chamber of Commerce oil and gas industry conference that
many people in Prince Rupert are suffering economically and are looking to the
oil industry to rebuild their lives.
"Your industry is welcome on the North Coast," said Pond, quickly adding, "with
the right regulatory regime."
Environmental groups and some aboriginal nations living in the coastal areas
near Prince Rupert and Queen Charlotte Islands are concerned offshore oil
exploration could fuel an environmental disaster.
The Western Canada Wilderness Committee erected a protest picket sign outside
the industry conference.
Wilderness Committee spokesman Ken Wu said a recent agreement signed between
Ottawa and British Columbia to develop regulations for offshore seismic testing
is a sign the federal government is considering lifting its 33-year-old
moratorium preventing north coast oil and gas exploration.
But Pond said the current minority political situation in Ottawa has slowed
progress on offshore oil exploration to a trickle.
"I wouldn't expect at the federal level there will be a rush to take action on
this particular file," he said in an interview following his luncheon address.
But the minority Liberal government shouldn't completely stop Prince Rupert, the
B.C. government or Ottawa from exploring north coast offshore oil development,
Pond said.
"There is lots that can be done to move the issue along."
B.C. Energy Minister Richard Neufeld said he will be in Ottawa this month to
discuss offshore oil and gas with the federal government.
He said the government's minority status and its relationship to the offshore
oil moratorium is a federal topic.
"That's a fair question for the federal government," Neufeld said. "I'm not
representing the federal government here and what decisions they'd make as a
minority government."
A federal report released last November found that 75 per cent of British
Columbians who participated in a review process opposed lifting the federal
moratorium.
Neufeld dismissed the report by Roland Priddle, saying "it was fit for the
shredder."
A separate report said aboriginals in northern British Columbia were 100 per
cent opposed to lifting the moratorium.
The Royal Society of Canada released a federal report last year that found there
are few scientific barriers to oil and gas exploration on B.C.'s north coast,
but strict regulations must be in place.
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