State of emergency renewed in B.C., gas rationing order lifting

Vancouver -

Weeks after B.C. was hit by a series of atmospheric rivers that led to catastrophic flooding and mudslides, the province's deputy premier has renewed a state of emergency but is lifting a gas rationing order.

Mike Farnworth gave the update Monday morning alongside Transportation Minister Rob Fleming.

"There is still so much to do," Farnworth said. "Because of the vulnerable state of our highway structure and continued need for public safety measures, I am extending the provincial state of emergency for an additional two weeks."

The province was placed under a state of emergency in November as southern B.C. dealt with extreme flooding and as major transportation routes were closed because of landslides. The state of emergency would have expired on Tuesday if it hadn't been renewed. It'll now expire on Dec. 28 unless it's lifted earlier.

That state of emergency came with a gas rationing order, limiting drivers of non-essential vehicles to just 30 litres per stop at stations across the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Sunshine Coast and Gulf Islands. That limit to gas purchases will end as of Dec. 14, however.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who abided by and observed the 30-litre rule," Farnworth said.

"When we put this order in place, I said at that time if we all pull together, we'll get through this emergency … at that time I said if we do that, we will we succeed and if we were greedy we'd fail. Well the people of British Columbia stepped up. Every one of you played your part and for that I want to thank you."

When the gas rationing rules were first implemented, officials said they wanted to give Trans Mountain time to get its pipeline operating again. The pipeline restarted on Dec. 5, but officials kept order in place for a little while longer while operations returned to normal.

"We're confident in the supplies with the Trans Mountain pipeline up and running," Farnworth said Monday, adding that he expects people to "continue to be responsible" with their gas purchases.

"People really understood the importance of observing that 30-litre rule. We asked people to pull together and they did."

Calling a state of emergency gives the province extra powers under the Emergency Program Act, like implementing the rationing order.

They also allow the province to make payments or grants to local authorities, implement emergency plans, acquire or use personal property necessary to respond to an emergency, control or prohibit travel and order evacuations.

By default, a state of emergency remains in place for two weeks, at which time it can be renewed. However, they can also be called off at any time.