The abundant marine ecosystems of BC’s North Coast have long been the economic and cultural lifeblood of the region. Stretching from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaskan boarder, the coast along BC’s Great Bear Rainforest is home to grey whale migratory routes, the feeding grounds for orca and humpback whales and the mouth of approximately 650 salmon spawning rivers. It attracts 500,000 cruise ship passengers each year and supports fisheries worth $1.7 billion annually.

Following public outcry over a series of devastating oil spills off the coast, the federal government banned tanker traffic in 1972. The moratorium was later expanded to prohibit coastal oil and gas exploration and drilling.

But now, after 35 years of protection, the current Federal government has instituted a dramatic reversal in policy, and began opening the North Coast to six tanker related oil and gas developments. So far, 13 tankers carrying condensate – a toxic mix of petrochemicals used to dilute heavy tar sands oil – have been allowed to transit BC’s Inside Passage.

The current provincial government has so far also supported opening up BC’s coast to oil and gas development, as reaffirmed in its 2007 Energy Plan.