Canada, U.S. announce ban on offshore oil, gas licenses in Arctic

UBC professor Michael Byers was quoted by the Canadian Press about the joint US-Canada announcement banning offshore oil and gas activity in the Arctic.

Byers pointed out that the ban is of little consequence since there are no drilling plans in the region at the moment.

Instead, he said, the announcement seems to be politically motivated to show that Prime Minister Trudeau is protecting the environment despite recently sanctioning the Trans Mountain expansion and Line 3 replacement.

The story appeared in Toronto Star, CBC, BNNHuffington Post Canada, Maclean’s MagazineMetro News Canada, News1130, Washington Post and South China Morning Post.