Liberals vote to keep B.C. tanker ban in place

OTTAWA - The Liberal government has decided to maintain the B.C. oil tanker ban, rejecting a Conservative bill seeking to repeal it. The measure, known as the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, restricts tankers carrying over 12,500 metric tonnes of crude oil from navigating certain northern British Columbia coastal areas. Prime Minister Mark Carney, who personally voted in the House of Commons, reached an agreement with the provincial government to sustain the ban.

Opponents of the law argue that it hinders Canada's economic growth by limiting B.C.'s ability to export oil to foreign markets. The Conservatives had initially hoped that a revised Pacific Link pipeline, now destined for a southern route, would circumvent the ban. The bill was approved by the Liberal majority in the Commons, with only the opposition party opposing the measure.