As I stare out the window of a small turboprop plane dipping below cloud cover, the landscape of northern British Columbia unfolds beneath me like a living tapestry. Miles of dense forest stretch to the horizon, interrupted by the silver threads of rivers winding their way to the Pacific. This is the territory at the heart of Canada’s ongoing pipeline debate, a place where ecological concerns, economic ambitions, and Indigenous rights converge in complex and often tense relationships.
“We’ve been fighting this battle for generations,” says Marian Williams, a Wet’suwet’en elder I’m meeting in Smithers. “The land doesn’t just sustain us physically—it holds our stories, our ancestors, our future.”
The federal oil tanker moratorium along BC’s north coast has been celebrated by environmental groups as a crucial protection for fragile marine ecosystems. Established in 2019, the moratorium prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude or persistent oil from stopping at ports along British Columbia’s north coast. But environmental experts and Indigenous leaders caution that focusing solely on this ban overlooks the broader ecological impacts that northern pipeline development presents.
Dr. Karen Thompson, an ecologist with the Pacific Watershed Research Centre who has studied the region for over two decades, explains the interconnectedness of the concerns. “The tanker ban addresses one significant risk, but pipeline construction itself threatens critical watersheds, disturbs wildlife corridors, and fragments sensitive ecosystems that have remained largely intact.”
When I visited the Skeena River watershed last spring, I witnessed firsthand the pristine ecological conditions that could be affected. The Skeena, Canada’s second-largest undammed river, supports crucial salmon runs that feed both wildlife and coastal communities. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, these watersheds support over 60 percent of BC’s wild salmon populations.
Thompson points to research from the University of Northern British Columbia showing that pipeline construction can increase erosion rates by up to 300 percent in mountainous regions, directly impacting water quality in these salmon-bearing streams. “What happens upstream inevitably affects the entire ecosystem downstream,” she notes.
Beyond water quality, the wildlife impacts extend throughout the proposed corridors. Woodland caribou herds, already listed as threatened under the Species at Risk Act, rely on undisturbed habitat that pipeline right-of-ways would bisect. A 2022 study published in Conservation Biology documented how linear disturbances like pipelines can increase predation rates on caribou by creating movement corridors for wolves.
The proposed route also intersects with some of North America’s most productive grizzly bear habitat. “These aren’t just environmental concerns,” explains Raymond Harris, a Gitxsan Nation hunter and guide. “They’re cultural ones. Our traditions depend on healthy populations of salmon, moose, and berries—all of which depend on intact ecosystems.”
During my week traveling through the region, I spent time with members of several nations whose territories would be crossed by pipeline infrastructure. Their concerns repeatedly extended beyond the potential for marine spills.
“The focus on tankers feels like a distraction,” says Marlene Jackson, an environmental assessment coordinator with the Haida Nation. “We’re equally concerned about the daily impacts—increased industrial activity, habitat fragmentation, and the cumulative effects of development that’s already happening.”
The cumulative effects Jackson references are substantiated by provincial data. A 2023 report from BC’s Environmental Assessment Office acknowledges that industrial development in northern BC has already altered approximately 20 percent of the land base, primarily through forestry, mining, and existing energy infrastructure.
Industry representatives and economic development advocates counter that modern pipeline technology has dramatically reduced environmental risks. They point to advanced monitoring systems, thicker pipe materials in sensitive areas, and automatic shutdown capabilities that can detect and respond to leaks within minutes.
“These aren’t the pipelines of twenty years ago,” says Michael Robertson, spokesperson for the Canadian Energy Infrastructure Association. “The industry has invested billions in safety improvements, and our environmental protection standards exceed those of most countries globally.”
Robertson highlights the potential economic benefits for communities facing persistent unemployment. According to Statistics Canada, unemployment rates in northern BC consistently run 3-4 percentage points higher than provincial averages. “These projects represent generational opportunities for sustainable economic development,” he argues.
But for many residents, the economic case isn’t straightforward. Tourism operators like Jessica Wilson, who runs a wilderness guide service near Terrace, see their livelihoods as directly threatened by industrial development. “My business exists because this place is still wild,” Wilson tells me as we paddle past eagle nests on the Skeena. “Our clients come from around the world specifically because this is one of the last intact temperate rainforests. Once that’s gone, it’s gone.”
Climate scientists also emphasize that new fossil fuel infrastructure contradicts Canada’s emission reduction commitments. Dr. Simon Parker from the Climate Action Network notes that the federal government’s pledge to reduce emissions by 40-45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 becomes increasingly difficult with expanded oil and gas development. “Each new pipeline effectively locks in decades of emissions,” Parker explains.
As the sun sets over the Coast Mountains, I sit with Williams outside her home. She speaks softly about the generations of her family who have lived in relationship with this land. “We don’t oppose development because we want to live in the past,” she says. “We oppose certain kinds of development because we want there to be a future—for our grandchildren, for the salmon, for everyone.”
The debate over northern BC pipelines ultimately transcends the tanker ban, revealing deeper questions about Canada’s path forward. As pipeline proposals continue to navigate regulatory processes, what’s clear from my time in the region is that the environmental concerns are as interconnected as the ecosystems themselves.
