Crude oil tanker ban for B.C.'s North Coast ordered by Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeauhascalledfor a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic for B.C.'s North Coast.

Trudeauoutlined the directive in amandate letter to Canada's transport minister, MarcGarneau,onFriday. In it, he askedGarneauto formalize the agreement with three other ministries: fisheries, natural resources and environment.

It's unclear what impact a moratoriumwould have on Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline, which would carry bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C. The project was approved in June2014 with 209 conditions.

"This ban ends the dangerous Northern Gateway pipeline proposal," saidKarenMahon, fromForestEthics, an environmental group that advocates for theprotection ofB.C.'s coast. "Without tankers, crude oil has no place to go, that means no pipelines, no oil trains moving tarsands to the northern B.C. coast."

Enbridge said in a statement that despite the mandate for a moratorium on tanker traffic, it is confident the federal government will consult with 26 of 45First Nations that have signed on with the project about what impacta tanker ban couldhave on them and also a perceived economic boost for Western Canada.

Enbridgedescribethe Northern Gateway projectas having "one of the most exhaustive reviews of its kind in Canadian history."

"We have made significant process building support on the B.C. coast and along the pipeline corridor," said spokesman Ivan Giesbrecht.

"Along with the project's aboriginal equity partners, we are looking forward to an opportunity to sit down with the new prime minister and his cabinet to provide an update on the progress of our project and our partnerships with First Nations and Mtis people in Alberta and B.C."

Still, Enbridge says the earliest the pipeline could be built is 2019, prompting some analyststo question whether the company is fully committed to the project given the obstacles it still faces.

The moratorium would require legislation and would no doubtprompt debate in the House of Commons.

The mandate letter from Trudeau comes a week after U.S. President Barack Obamarejected TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline, saying it did not serve his country's national interests.

Both Trudeau and Obama will be part of the G20meeting inAntalya, Turkey, this weekend and the United Nations climate change conference in Paris startingon Nov. 30

Also on Friday, Trudeau asked his minister of fisheries and oceans to re-open the Kitsilano Coast Guard station in Vancouver.