Bay du Nord

If Canada pays royalties to the contentious Bay du Nord oil development off the Newfoundland coast, it would be the first country in the world to do so.

Quebec became the first jurisdiction in the world Tuesday to explicitly ban oil and gas development in its territory after decades of campaigning by environmental organizations and citizen groups.

Although the operation of Bay du Nord will emit less carbon than its oilsands counterparts during production, once that oil is burned, the emissions are all the same.

"I am of the opinion that the project, as currently proposed, would likely cause unacceptable environmental effects within federal jurisdiction," Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault wrote.

Bay du Nord would see drilling take place at a depth of up to 1,200 metres, compared to other current offshore operations, which drill at 100 metres or less.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says a new report from the United Nations' climate agency shows the oil and gas sector "cannot do business as usual" even as the government is still considering approving a massive new offshore oil production project.

To avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, the world’s greenhouse gas emissions need to start falling before 2025, which requires a swift move away from fossil fuels and increased investments in renewables, a new report from the IPCC says.

A small group of student climate activists challenged the federal environment minister to reject the proposed Bay du Nord offshore oil exploration project at an event in Montreal on Friday before joining a larger climate march.

The area is the future site of Bay du Nord, the deepest oil production well in Canada’s history. A decision is expected on the project in April.

Opponents of Bay du Nord are stressing the importance of learning from the province's cod moratorium, which left 30,000 people abruptly jobless.

Verdict on the $6.8-billion oil project off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador was expected to be released by March 6.

Those opposed are worried about the impacts the 200,000 barrels a day the Bay du Nord project plans to extract would have on the climate, especially in light of the most recent IPCC report.

A little-known proposed oil project called Bay du Nord  — a collection of six oil discoveries close to each other in the Flemish Pass — is once again bringing the federal cabinet’s commitment to climate action into question. 

Signatories say the project would not only emit significant carbon into the atmosphere but threaten the natural environment of the Flemish Pass Basin and go against Canada's climate goals.

Days before the federal government is set to make a decision on a $6.8-billion oil project off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, environmentalists are poking holes in the company's environmental claims and urging Ottawa to reject the proposal.