The new tanker safety measures announced by Ottawa on Monday are intended to convince British Columbians that bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands can safely be shipped from the West Coast.

The measures include increasing inspections of all foreign ships, increasing aerial surveillance of vessels, implementing new pollution penalties, carrying out research on how to handle bitumen spills, and creating an expert tanker safety panel to review and improve Canada’s current tanker safety system.

“What we have to do is make sure no pipeline proceeds unless it’s safe for the environment and safe for Canadians,” Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver said at a press conference with the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Denis Lebel. The ministers spoke outdoors at a site overlooking Burrard Inlet, while Coast Guard and other emergency vessels circled in the waters behind them.

“We’re working to achieve world-class standards,” Oliver added. Last year, B.C. Premier Christy Clark listed world-class emergency response as one of her five conditions for new oilsands pipelines to proceed.

When asked if the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline would proceed despite strong public opposition in B.C., Oliver said, “Public opinion is important, but it can also evolve with the circumstances … We’ll await the recommendation (of the joint-review panel) and see how opinion evolves.”

The Wilderness Committee, which has been a leading opponent of the proposed expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline to carry oilsands bitumen to the coast, immediately panned the new safety proposals, saying they provide little comfort to citizens concerned about a spill.

“To say that a few extra flights and some inspections of older vessels will increase tanker safety is an insult to British Columbians who care about protecting our coast, said Eoin Madden, the Wilderness Committee’s climate change campaigner.