Victoria — Long-time bans on oil and gas drilling in waters near British Columbia could be safely lifted under strict conditions, says an independent scientific panel formed by the federal Liberal government.
The report released Monday keeps hopes alive for boosters of exploration in the Queen Charlotte Basin, prompting environmentalists to complain about what they view as growing momentum for offshore B.C. drilling.
Bans on drilling, implemented in 1972 by the federal government and in 1989 by the B.C. government, “were put in place because of concerns that oil and gas activities” would endanger the pristine setting and wildlife of the Queen Charlotte Islands, according to the 170-page report.
However, “provided an adequate regulatory regime is put in place, there are no science gaps that need to be filled before lifting the moratoria on oil and gas development,” the report said.
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The four-member science panel, chaired by Newfoundland earth sciences professor Jeremy Hall, conducted a series of hearings last fall on the West Coast.
Prof. Hall and the three other scientists have submitted their findings to federal Natural Resources Minister John Efford, who is from Newfoundland and has expressed his support for West Coast drilling, so long as there are safeguards in place.
The panelists will hold a news conference Tuesday to discuss their findings.
“I have a lot of confidence in the panel,” Mr. Efford said Monday in an interview from Ottawa.
“They are a group of people who are very knowledgeable and respected not only in Canada, but respected worldwide.”
The expert panel, organized by the Royal Society of Canada, cautioned that its findings should not “be taken to mean that the panel is recommending that development be allowed to begin immediately.”
Instead, the panel believes that lifting the bans would enhance the scientific knowledge of governments and industry as they seek data through more studies.
The report's authors also stressed that it's too early to ease restrictions on oil tankers along the West Coast.
Certain steps need to be taken to guard the environment, the report notes, such as designating sponge reefs as “marine-protected areas” and having a 20-kilometre buffer zone to outlaw drilling too close to land.
The Royal Society of Canada posted the report on its website Monday at www.rsc.ca.
Premier Gordon Campbell's Liberal government has touted offshore drilling as a key part of his long-term strategy to revive the province's sluggish economy. He is aiming to extract fuel in time to light the flame for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
However, industry observers believe that target is much too optimistic. A presentation by Calgary-based Shell Canada Ltd. at an energy conference last May suggested that exploratory drilling could begin as early as 2010, followed by development planning in 2012 and the first amount of production in 2017.
Environmentalists expressed concern Monday that the West Coast could follow in the footsteps of Newfoundland, where the Hibernia oil project began production in 1997 in the Atlantic Ocean and Terra Nova started oil operations in 2001.
A separate federal panel headed by Roland Priddle, a former National Energy Board chairman now living in Victoria, plans to begin public hearings this spring in B.C. communities to identify sticky topics in the debate over whether it's safe to drill on the West Coast.
The Vancouver-based David Suzuki Foundation said Monday that because of the “perceived bias” of Mr. Priddle and fellow panel member Don Scott, a former mayor of the northwestern B.C. city of Prince Rupert, they should step down. Critics have said that aboriginal groups, notably the Haida who live on the Queen Charlottes, should be given greater input into the decision-making process.
Persuading federal Environment Minister David Anderson, who represents the Victoria riding, to embrace development will be a big challenge for the pro-drilling camp.
With a federal election expected this year, Ottawa's moratorium on West Coast drilling is unlikely to be lifted until 2005 at the earliest.