Ottawa says new Western Arctic funding won't lift the offshore drilling ban

Ottawa is setting aside $11 million over four years for offshore oil and gas governance, but says it does not signal lifting the drilling moratorium. The Budget 2026 funding will support environmental monitoring, government capacity and shared decision-making under the Tariuq Accord, a 2023 agreement among the Inuvialuit, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Ottawa. Federal minister Rebecca Chartrand told Cabin Radio it is "absolutely not" a decision to lift the ban, in place since 2016. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Ottawa is engaging northern governments and the Inuvialuit about the ban's future. The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation had not yet responded.