Feds Extend Restrictions on Arctic Offshore Drilling

A federal suspension of Arctic oil and gas work was set to lift in 2023, but the government of Canada said the order has now been extended, reports CBC News.

In 2016, the Government of Canada announced a ban on issuing new offshore oil and gas licences in Canadian Arctic waters. The federal government made that decision unilaterally and declared the moratorium indefinite.

In response, the premier at the time, Bob McLeod, issued a "red alert" accusing the federal government of being "patronizing" and "colonial" — and bypassing local government. 

In 2019, the feds expanded those restrictions and prohibited any kind of oil and gas work on offshore Canadian Arctic waters.

That legislation says those restrictions will be repealed on Dec. 31, 2022 but Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) said in an email that it was committed to extending the 2019 prohibition order for as long as the 2016 moratorium is in place. 

A federal spokesperson later said in an email that the order was extended in mid-December. 

Jackie Jacobson, MLA for Nunakput, the N.W.T.'s northernmost electoral district, said he wants the moratorium lifted — to create jobs for his constituents.