News

NDP Motion Explained

by Jack Layton

Thank you for your past email outlining your concerns with oil tanker traffic on the coast of BC. I am providing this email as an update on our efforts to address the situation.

On December 7, Parliament voted to support an NDP motion calling on the government to ban oil tanker traffic on the BC coast. We have long felt that these supertankers are all risk and no reward - it's all about shipping raw bitumen from Alberta's tar sands to Asia.

Our motion reads as follows:

"That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately propose legislation to ban bulk oil tanker traffic in the Dixon
Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound as a way to protect the West Coast's unique and diverse ocean ecosystem, to preserve the marine resources which sustain the community and regional economies of British Columbia, and to honour the extensive First Nations rights and title in the area."

For more information on our efforts to represent this serious issue, please see the following links:

http://www.ndp.ca/press/victory-for-bc-ndp-tanker-ban-motion-passes-house