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A B.C. NDP premier directly challenges federal authority, claiming his actions are necessary to protect coastal communities and the health of the ocean.

The preceding sentence could describe the ongoing anti-pipeline moves by B.C. premier John Horgan, but it also neatly summarizes a 1990s saga in which then-premier Glen Clark tried to shut down a torpedo testing range on Vancouver Island.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or The last time a B.C. NDP premier challenged federal authority, he lost horribly Back to video

In that case, though, an irked Liberal government in Ottawa did not hesitate to unleash the nuclear option on a rebellious province.

The issue at the time was the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges near Nanaimo, B.C.

Photo by Bruce Stotesbury/Postmedia

Nanoose Bay’s sandy bottom and shallow depth make it ideal for torpedo testing and the U.S. military had been using the site ever since the 1960s as part of a paid agreement with Canada.

While the range was B.C. property, the feds leased the site from the province.

In 1997, B.C. Premier Glen Clark announced plans to close the range as a pressure tactic in what’s come to be called the Salmon Wars, a dispute between U.S. and Canadian fishermen over quotas for Pacific salmon.