Trudeau sells Trans Mountain decision, talks overdose deaths during B.C. visit
VANCOUVER — During his first visit to British Columbia since the controversial approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau grappled with two major issues facing the province — tanker traffic and the opioid crisis.
Trudeau toured a commercial tugboat on Tuesday in Vancouver, where he announced that two emergency towing vessels that were promised as part of a federal plan to protect Canada’s oceans will operate on the West Coast.
“Both of these vessels will operate on Canada’s West Coast and help to keep large disabled vessels off B.C.’s pristine coasts,” Trudeau said in a news release.
The vessels, announced in November as part of the federal government’s $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan, will help the coast guard tow large commercial ships that are in distress and pose a hazard to navigation and the marine environment.