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By Senator Nicole Eaton, Post-Media Network Specialist
During the 2015 election campaign, Canadians repeatedly said that a Trudeau government would be determined to adopt an "evidence-based policy."
Ministerial mandate letters reiterate this call for decisions to be based on "science, facts and evidence".
But a bill currently before the Senate, Bill C-48, the Petroleum Moratorium Act, is failing the Prime Minister's test.
This bill prohibits tankers from using all ports and offshore facilities in northern British Columbia, from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the border with Alaska.
This was a Liberal promise in the 2015 campaign and the prohibition directive was included in the Minister of Transport's mandate letter – although it does not appear that he was invited to review " science, facts and evidence "before drafting the bill.
We have seen no evidence of cost-benefit badysis or risk badessment, nor any consideration of Canada's stringent safety and environmental standards for tankers.
And it is quite obvious that the consultation that was conducted was a sham, done with the result already in mind.
Bill C-48 is not based on evidence, but on politics. It is based on an election promise to press the NDP in British Columbia, rich in voices.
In the end, it's about locking up Fort McMurray's oil reserves.
First nations are the biggest losers if Bill C-48 comes into effect, particularly the 35 First Nations between Grbady Point, British Columbia, and Fort McMurray, partners in the Eagle Spirit Energy Corridor energy corridor. This $ 14-billion Aboriginal-led project has been under preparation for six years.
In a recent letter to senators, the Eagle Spirit Council of Chiefs' project states that this project "represents the only opportunity for our communities to generate sustainable, self-sustaining revenues that would allow us to solve our own problems."
And they talk about "the complete lack of consultation with the federal government in the introduction of Bill C-48 and the extremely detrimental impact it will have on our communities."
If Bill C-48 becomes law, Eagle Spirit is dead.
The chiefs ask the same question as I asked. What makes the waters of northern British Columbia different from other parts of Canada?
Are the dangers greater in northern British Columbia? along the iceberg alley in Newfoundland? Is the killer whale more important than the good whale?
Of course not.
We can ship oil safely by tanker because more than 4,000 tankers go down the east coast every year without incident. (Compared to less than 300 along the west coast).
What is the consequence of bad legislation such as Bill C-48?
That the United States is the only viable market for Alberta crude. This is one of the reasons why the Western Canadian Select discount exceeded $ 50 a barrel earlier this month.
This price difference means the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue. According to the Fraser Institute, the difference in Canadian crude oil prices cost Canadian oil producers $ 20.7 billion between 2013 and 2017.
This loss of revenue is also hitting governments with less money for schools and hospitals.
Recent renegotiations under NAFTA have shown that Canada is too dependent on the United States for its economic prosperity. I do not understand why the federal government is taking deliberate steps to keep the United States the only accessible market for one of our major export products.
But that's exactly the impact of Bill C-48.
Nicole Eaton is a conservative member of the Senate of Canada.
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