OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson declined to say if the federal government would consider repealing the oil tanker ban on British Columbia’s north coast to make way for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s pipeline project pitch in a few months.

“It’s a hypothetical question right now, because there is no project before us,” Hodgson said on Friday on the margins of a battery investment announcement in Montreal.

Ottawa has been under pressure by the federal Conservatives, provinces and industry leaders to scrap some of its environmental regulations which they say have been stifling energy investments — while private businesses are building pipelines south of the border.

However, B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix said in a recent interview with National Post that the oil tanker

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