Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says his party will “formalize” an existing moratorium on oil tankers off B.C.’s northern coast, if given the chance to form a government.

Ignatieff announced today (June 21) that the federal Liberals would use regulation, legislation, or both to make sure oil tanker traffic stays out of the Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait, and Queen Charlotte Sound.

“The Harper Conservatives refuse to recognize the tanker moratorium off the B.C. coast, and have taken no steps to protect our marine ecosystems from harmful oil spills,” Ignatieff said in a press release.

The Pierre Trudeau government brought in the oil tanker moratorium in 1972.

Ignatieff’s announcement comes two months after the BP oil spill began in the Gulf of Mexico.

You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.