Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan has proposed legal action to allow cruise ships to bypass British Columbia ports en route to Alaska.
The move comes in direct response to BC Premier David Eby’s recent announcement of new fees on commercial trucks traveling from Washington state through B.C. to Alaska on the Alcan Highway.
Premier Eby said the legislation enabling these tariffs that target Alaska is a necessary tool to protect BC’s economic interests.
Despite Sullivan’s political threats to the cruise ship industry in Canada, Eby said BC has the right to respond to economic pressures from the US government.
“The consequences for Alaskans are a big deal,” Eby told reporters, and said he expects Alaska to “respond in kind” if BC moves forward with truck tariffs.
Sen. Sullivan, in a March 7 appearance on the Mike Porcaro Show on 650-KENI, called Canada’s response a “dangerous game” and indicated he will seek either legislative changes or an executive order from President Donald Trump to exempt cruise ships from the Passenger Vessel Services Act, a law that, like the Jones Act, requires foreign-flagged vessels to make a foreign port call between US destinations. Removing this requirement would allow cruise ships to sail directly to Alaska, potentially bypassing BC ports altogether, if they choose.
“Two can play this game,” Sullivan warned, speaking to host Mike Porcaro. “We’re going to work hard on having our cruise ships bypass your ports, and that’ll help our economy tremendously.”
“We don’t want to use this tool. We like Alaskans. We think they’re great. We like Americans. We think they’re great. They’ve just got a lousy president,” Eby stated to reporters, as reported by Canadian Press.
However, the loss of cruise ship stopovers in Victoria and Vancouver could deal a severe blow to the province’s economy. The cruise industry is a major contributor, with more than 300 ships expected to bring approximately 1.2 million passengers to BC ports this season. If Alaska succeeds in bypassing these stops, it could cost Western Canada billions in tourism revenue.
Sullivan reinforced his warning in his radio interview, stating, “Canada, you don’t want to mess with Alaska. And if you do, we are going to work hard on having our cruise ships bypass your ports, and that will help our economy tremendously. It’ll help our tourism industry tremendously, and it’ll really hurt their tourism. They’re playing a dangerous game here. I hope they back down.”
Eby, however, was unmoved by the threats.
“Trade wars only hurt people. They don’t benefit anybody. This is our message to Donald Trump. It’s our message to all Americans. We don’t want this fight. We didn’t sign up for it, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to arm ourselves,” Eby said to Canadian Press.
Having cruise ships bypass BC would be of great benefit to us, this guy has his priorities backwards.
Why pick a fight with Canada? They have always been good neighbors. It was Wanna-be King Trump who started a trade war with them and BTW picked a fight with Europe.