British Columbia offshore remains off limits to oil, gas exploration

But Dosanjh faces almost certain defeat in next election; his pro-business opponent strongly endorses revisiting drilling ban

Gary Park

PNA Canadian Correspondent

Steady advances towards rethinking a 41-year ban on drilling British Columbia's offshore, one of Canada's greatest untapped oil and gas prospects, have been dealt an abrupt setback.

British Columbia Premier Ujjal Dosanjh said his government will stand firm in upholding the moratorium, despite a year when several of his cabinet ministers have supported a full public consultation on opening up the Queen Charlotte Basin.

He said the government's “first and foremost concern” is to maintain the “environmental values of our coastal waters. Our position is firm and very, very clear, unless there is unequivocal evidence that science can address the dangers from earthquakes and oil spills.”

Reminded that former Energy Minister Dan Miller, who was dropped from cabinet in early November, and Miller's successor Glenn Robertson have favored a review of the moratorium, Dosanjh replied: “They are not the leaders and they are not the premier.”

But Dosanjh's left-wing New Democratic Party government seems headed for a resounding defeat in the next provincial election, which must be held before June 2001.

The NDP has 17 percent backing from decided voters — the lowest standing for a governing party in Canadian polling history — while the pro-business Liberal Party is at 67 percent. Liberal leader Gordon Campbell has strongly endorsed revisiting the ban, which was extended indefinitely in 1989 after Exxon Valdez.

Reserves estimated at 10 billion barrels

The original 1959 moratorium was lifted briefly in the late 1960s and Shell Canada was involved in drilling eight exploratory wells. But the leaseholders have been reluctant to get drawn into the wrangling over the future of the region.

“We have been interested since the late 1960s and early 1970s in the area and our interest continues,” said Chevron Canada spokesman Charlie Stewart. “We need to have some signal from government that it is interested before we're going to become involved.”

Although welcoming Dosanjh's intervention, the David Suzuki Foundation, a Vancouver-based environmental lobby, said it is too soon for opponents of oil and gas development to proclaim victory.

“What we're cautious about is that we know there is going to be an election,” said a spokesman.

The community-based North Coast Oil and Gas Task Force has been the leading advocate of public consultation on offshore drilling as it pursues all possible opportunities to find economic alternatives to the battered fishing mining and timber industries.

Task force chairman Dave McGuigan said he was unhappy with Dosanjh's “dictatorial” line. “Maybe we should all pack up and live in tents because that's about all we'll be able to afford,” he said.

British Columbia's Northern Development Commission, which has been working to bring aboriginal, environmental and community representatives together to act as a catalyst in a public consultation process, said it intends to continue developing plans for discussions to start in spring 2001.