The Vancouver Sun reports in its Wednesday edition touring the Douglas Channel on British Columbia's North Coast has convinced federal Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair it would be "pure madness" to allow supertankers carrying raw bitumen to ply the narrow passage. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Sun says the NDP leader argues the planned route for exporting oil to Asia "makes no sense," and his party would introduce legislation barring the transport option if it gains power next year. The 90-kilometre-long Douglas Channel links the Pacific Ocean to Kitimat, the would-be terminus of Enbridge's Northern Gateway oil pipeline. Mr. Mulcair met Monday with officials from Kitimat and with leaders of the Haisla First Nation and Gitga'at Nation of Hartley Bay. Asked about the landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision last month that granted aboriginal title for the first time to the Tsilhqot'in Nation, Mr. Mulcair said an NDP government would establish a "nation-to-nation" relationship with the Indians. Respecting first nations' inherent rights, is not only "the right thing to do legally, but the smart thing to do economically," he said. "We've got to start listening to the courts instead of fighting with them."