Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday his government has not made a decision about lifting its decade long moratorium on offshore oil and gas exploration in the Arctic. The statement, made to reporters in Montreal, follows a report that his government is considering lifting the ban, a move some Northern leaders have advocated as a way to increase the region economic self sufficiency.
Why it matters
The confusion comes from the budget. Last week federal budget contained a reference to 11 million Canadian dollars in funding over four years to support the governance and oversight of offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic Ocean. Carney said the budget item represents capacity funding for Inuit leadership, with whom the federal government has agreed to jointly manage natural resources in the North. Northern leaders who want development argue it is the fastest route to economic self sufficiency, and they will keep pressing the case.
His words were blunt. It is absolutely not, in any way, shape or form, a decision about lifting the moratorium, Carney told reporters, drawing a line between preparing to govern the North resources and deciding to open them up. The Toronto Star had reported on Monday that the government was considering lifting the ban, quoting a Department of Finance official.
What happens next
The stakes are high on both sides. Northern leaders argue that resource development is the fastest route to economic self sufficiency for communities that depend on federal transfers, while environmental groups and many Inuit leaders argue that the Arctic is too fragile to drill. The moratorium has stood for a decade, and any change would be one of the biggest energy decisions of this government.
What happens next will be decided in the joint management talks with Inuit leadership and in the politics of a government that has just bet its budget on sovereignty. The 11 million dollars buys capacity, not a decision. For now, the ban stands, and Carney has said so in plain terms. The 11 million dollars in the budget is capacity funding for Inuit leadership, not a down payment on drilling, and the joint management talks will decide what happens next.
