The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, May 12, edition that Alberta wants to build a new oil pipeline that would significantly increase tanker traffic in the Hecate Strait off B.C.'s North Coast, along with Queen Charlotte Sound and Dixon Entrance. The Globe's Justine Hunter writes that the aim is to lift the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act imposed since 2019. Ottawa is discussing this proposal with Alberta. The 2019 moratorium complements a voluntary Tanker Exclusion Zone established in 1985. It restricts large oil tankers from loading or unloading at B.C.'s North Coast deep-water ports, Kitimat and Prince Rupert. Proponents claim that oil tankers present no safety issues, citing Transport Canada's marine safety improvements, while local mariners disagree. The pipeline Alberta wants to build today would increase the oil tanker traffic well beyond 220 tankers annually. The waters under the moratorium remain dangerous, and the sensitive ecosystem along the rugged coastline is unchanged. However, Canada is now urgently seeking new trading partners due to the trade war with the U.S., prompting the federal Liberal government to consider previously unthinkable options.