The Federal Court of Appeal today released its long-anticipated decision on the Kinder Morgan Trans Canada pipeline. The ruling pleased environmentalists and other anti-pipeline protesters, and shocked proponents of the project such as business and trade organizations. Here are five key details:
What Happened
The Federal Court of Appeal has quashed approval of the $9.3-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion on two grounds. First, the court found Canada had inadequate consultation with First Nations at the final stage, concluding Ottawa “failed to engage dialogue meaningfully and grapple with the real concerns of the Indigenous applicants so as to explore possible accommodation of those concerns.” The consultations with First Nations must be re-done before the project can be considered for approval again. Second, the scope of the review “unjustifiably” did not include project-related tanker traffic, even though the National Energy Board was “legally obligated” to consider environmental effects. “The unjustified exclusion of project-related marine shipping from the definition of the project rendered the board’s report impermissibly flawed,” the court ruled.
Lori Culbert – Vancouver Sun – august 30, 2018.
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