N.W.T. premier says Arctic drilling ban, emission restrictions hurt oil industry
CALGARY — The premier of the Northwest Territories is blasting federal policies including promises to restrict greenhouse gas emissions that he says will stifle a viable energy sector in the North.
Bob McLeod told the Arctic Oil & Gas Symposium on Wednesday that a national carbon price and a five-year ban on drilling in the Arctic’s Beaufort Sea have created a “no-win situation” for his territory’s efforts to develop a strong resource economy.
The federal government is proposing a carbon price of $10 per tonne in 2018 that would grow to $50 per tonne by 2022.
The drilling ban was announced in December by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said the measure was needed to protect the Arctic’s ecosystem.