Federal and provincial New Democrats are calling for a formal moratorium on oil tanker traffic in the waters of Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound on B.C.'s North Coast.

Victoria MP  Denise Savoie has introduced a motion in the House of Commons to ban oil tankers from the province's northern waters.

On Friday, she said there has been an unofficial moratorium on tanker traffic in the area for 35 years.

"I don't know how many British Columbians know that tanker traffic is being allowed today in our coastal waters overriding a de facto policy moratorium we've had since 1972."
 
She said the tankers are larger than the Exxon Valzez, and human error or a storm could cause "similar disastrous results."
 
The Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989, spilling more than 41 million litres of crude oil, creating an environmental disaster.

No moratorium, says minister

But the federal minister of natural resources, Gary Lunn, said the moratorium never really existed.

He maintains there is simply a voluntary exclusion zone for tanker traffic from Alaska to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Savoie said she also wants to reaffirm the current moratorium on offshore drilling along the B.C. coast, in the face of pressure by the
B.C. Liberal government to lift it.

Provincial NDP environment critic Shane Simpson said Premier Gordon Campbell is out of step with public opinion on that issue.

"It's this government that's calling for offshore oil and gas exploration, even though the rest of the West Coast understands the threat and the risk of this."