It’s outrageous the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications is flying over Alberta and Saskatchewan to go to BC, but not including those provinces in its travel plans

Canadian Senator Elaine McCoy

Senator Elaine McCoy: “It’s incumbent on any government to ensure that Canadians are having conversations with one another and not turning deaf ears to their neighbours.”

As a member of the Canadian Senate, we’ve heard from thousands of Canadians for and against Bill C-69, an act that promises the modernization of the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency – that’s a good thing.

But an eerie silence prevails around Bill C-48.

Bill C-48 proposes a ban against oil tankers off most of Canada’s western coast. The bill threatens national unity severely and significantly by pitting one region against another and communities against communities.

Canada was built on conversation, not conflict. We have always talked our way through to solutions that balance everyone’s interests; this has become a fundamental national principle. Bill C-48 promotes conflict, not co-operation.

Late last week I questioned Senator Elaine McCoy, regarding any motions that have be made to amend Bill C-48. 

In her response she stated, “No amendments have been put forward as yet”

By banning oil tankers that transport western oil to markets overseas, the bill unfairly inhibits the capacity of three provinces to fully develop their natural resources. It effectively landlocks much of our energy resources, preventing future infrastructure development and frustrating the aspirations of several indigenous communities. The result is a plan that appears to disadvantage one part of Canada in favour of another, and some communities against others, digging deeper fault lines in the unity of this country.

We ought to be wary when governments offer easy solutions to complex problems. We’re told that banning oil tankers off the B.C. coast will protect the area’s unique ecosystem and preserve the economic livelihoods of coastal fishing communities. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to support this claim.

Everyone agrees that the fragile ecosystem of the B.C. coast needs to be protected. However, Bill C-48 doesn’t offer real-time protection for the area in question. It allows the government to exempt, arbitrarily, any number of oil tankers from the ban. It does nothing to address other marine traffic like cargo ships, ferries and cruise ships that pose spill risks and have, in fact, caused damage to coastal communities.

This bill is not a moratorium so much as it is a cynical distraction from our very real obligation. All Canadians must find a way to save coastal communities and, at the same time, foster opportunities for all communities that aspire to build sustainable futures.

Manitoba Senator Don Plett

Manitoba Senator Don Plett is disturbed by hearings on Bill C-48 bypassing entirely two of the provinces most in need of being heard.  In an email sent last Friday (March 29^th) Plett left no doubt of where he stood:

“It is outrageous that the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications is flying right over Alberta and Saskatchewan to go to the west coast of British Columbia, but not including those provinces in its travel plans.”

He continued, “The Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration was asked to approve a budget of $136,640 for the Committee to make this trip, but some Senators think it isn’t worth a few more dollars to stop in Saskatchewan and Alberta. 

This is disgraceful. I am a member of the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.”

You’ll hear some politicians claim that the moratorium is a fulfillment of the wishes of local Indigenous communities. Again, the government is selecting one group over another by siding with those communities that support the ban while ignoring other Indigenous communities that are opposed to it. Indigenous leaders from the Nisga’a and Lax Kw’alaams nations, for example, have expressed serious concerns about the implementation of the moratorium and the lack of meaningful consultation.

Instead of pitting groups of Canadians against each other, the government should make a better effort to find compromise among the various groups that this bill directly affects, including the many workers across Canada who are facing bleak prospects if it proceeds. After all, it’s incumbent on any government to ensure that Canadians are having conversations with one another and not turning deaf ears to their neighbours.

Again, quoting Senator Don Plett, “I note that Senator Paula Simons, who is from the province of Alberta, has made claims on Twitter that she supported travel to Alberta. But this is simply not true. She voted against this motion and did not make a subsequent motion to travel to Alberta only, even though she had opportunity to do so.”

“It is very regrettable that the Federal government is ramming this devastating Bill through and it is equally regrettable that the Senators listed below have scuttled the efforts of those who recognize the importance of traveling to Alberta and Saskatchewan to hold hearings on this critical issue” the Senator concluded.

When we stop listening, divisions in our national unity quickly start to form.

Sadly, that’s what we’re seeing now. Fractures are developing because many affected Canadians believe that their interests are being ignored in favour of other interests. There seems to be little effort to foster dialogue or find compromise, and that feels like a betrayal of one of the key tenets of our Confederation.

Bill C-48 isn’t worth that cost and shouldn’t become law as it currently stands. It is an illusion masquerading as a solution. We can all do better than that.

Perhaps some of us are forgetting that Confederation was an achievement of what John A. Macdonald called a “mutual compromise” among the joining provinces. Our Constitution explicitly affirms the commitment of federal and provincial governments to “promote equal opportunities for the well-being of Canadians” and “further economic development to reduce disparity in opportunities.” Providing opportunity for all Canadians — not just one group or region: that’s the promise of Confederation.

And speaking of the words of Confederation, and mutual compromise, Manitoba Senator Don Plett, at the meeting where travel plans were being made by the Committee, made the following motion: “I would like to make a motion that this committee, as part of its study, travel to the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.”

The following Senators voted in favour of the motion, agreeing that the Committee travel to Alberta and Saskatchewan:

* Senator Boisvenu (Conservative - QC)
* Senator MacDonald (Conservative - NS)
* Senator Manning (Conservative - NL)
* Senator Plett (Conservative - MB)
* Senator Tkachuk (Conservative - SK)

The following Senators opposed the motion, voting that the Committing not travel to Alberta and Saskatchewan:

* Senator Cormier (Independent Senators Group - QC)
* Senator Dasko (Independent Senators Group - ON)
* Senator Dawson (Liberal - QC)
* Senator Gagné (Independent Senators Group - MB)
* Senator Galvez (Independent Senators Group - QC)
* Senator Simons (Independent Senators Group - AB)

The transcript of the voting record, and debate, on whether to hold hearings in Alberta and Saskatchewan as well can be found online.  CLICK HERE:

Senator Elaine McCoy stated, “Providing opportunity for all Canadians — not just one group or region: that’s the promise of Confederation.”

She then concluded, “It’s a principle worth keeping in mind when considering Bill C-48.”

And to conclude today's commentary, here’s an anonymous quote from one Canadian, well aware that mutual compromise seems a concept that many in the Senate, and Parliament, seems unwilling to offer to all Canadians:

“You may be able to trample my rights as an individual without consequence, but when you consider that my views are the same as many Albertans, you will have to accept that the flames of Western alienation have been fueled by your decision. When you feel the heat from these flames, you will have no choice but to accept personal responsibility for your role in igniting them.”

“I implore you to re-consider your decision not to hold hearings on Bill C-48 in Alberta. Please do the right thing and allow democracy to unfold as it should. You are unelected representatives of government and combined with the Liberal majority in the Senate you hold a higher duty to all Canadians to ensure fairness, equity and democratic process”.

Senator Elaine McCoy is a lawyer and former Alberta cabinet minister with over forty years' professional experience in regulation and policy development in both the private and public sectors.

She was appointed to the Senate of Canada by the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin on March 24, 2005, during the 100 ^th anniversary of Alberta's entry into Confederation.

She has been an independent senator since 2005 and was the first senator to hold the position of facilitator (leader) for the Independent Senators Group.

Senator Don Plett was appointed to the Senate August 27, 2009 on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. 

Senator Plett is known for taking a strong stance on issues that he is passionate about, some of which include: the protection of children, supporting Canadian farmers, religious freedom, freedom of speech, fair democratic processes, and issues facing the trades and construction industry.

Senator Plett also frequently contributes to discussions surrounding Senate reform, both in an out of the red chamber.