As the federal government nears a memorandum of understanding with Alberta that could include a new oil pipeline to the West Coast, experts in B.C. say the idea isn’t economically or environmentally viable.

The plan would require lifting a ban on tankers from carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil in areas along the northern coast of B.C.

Premier David Eby has called on Ottawa to keep the ban in place, and Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson has previously said any pipeline through B.C. would need support from the province and First Nations.

Thomas Gunton, director of the Resource and Environmental program at Simon Fraser University, says he’s surprised the pipeline is being discussed, and more surprised B.C. hasn’t been included in the conversation.

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