Canada's moratorium on oil tanker traffic off B.C.'s North Coast, which has existed since the 1970s but was only formalized into law in 2019, has been a key barrier to new oil pipeline proposals in the northwest.

The agreement signed Thursday by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith includes an entry point to break Canada’s 53-year-old moratorium on oil tankers off B.C.’s North Coast, provided a new pipeline proposal crosses several hurdles.

The deal accepts that if an Alberta bitumen pipeline is approved, Canada “will enable the export of bitumen from a strategic deep water port to Asian markets, including, if necessary, through an appropriate adjustment to the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act.”

Thursday’s announcement was deeply opposed by B.C. Premier David Eby, Co

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