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Not over ’til it’s over
Supreme Court of Canada appears to close legal options for Trans Mountain expansion opponents; 3 First Nations exploring alternatives Gary Park for Petroleum News
First Nations and environmentalists who have spent untold millions of dollars in legal fights to halt plans for expanding Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline system appear to have exhausted their legal options now that the Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal from three aboriginal communities.
For backers of the C$12.6 billion tripling of capacity on the link from Alberta to an export tanker terminal in Vancouver the road ahead after seven years of court and regulatory skirmishes appears to be clear.
But not so fast.
One of the First Nations’ leaders - Leah George-Wilson of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation - is emphatic that “this is not the end of our story,” and now plans to consult with her community before deciding what to do next.
Chris Lewis, a councilor with the Squamish Nation, said his community will now focus “on protecting our territory to the full extent possible.”
Coldwater Chief Lee Spahan said his nation will push back against the planned route for the Trans Mountain expansion to 890,000 barrels per day of oil sands bitumen which he argues puts the community’s sole source of water at risk.
Trudeau sees it as compromise Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government owns the Trans Mountain system, has repeatedly sold the project as a compromise between Canada’s need to develop its natural resources and its desire to fund a transition to cleaner, greener energy.
Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said the federal government has worked hard to accommodate concerns that aboriginal communities along the pipeline right of way have with the project, insisting those efforts have paid off at Canada’s highest court.
He said work that is now underway can accelerate and create 4,900 jobs during the 30-month construction period.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the Supreme Court ruling is another “legal vindication” for Trans Mountain, which has won over 120 of 128 First Nations through enticing benefits and land access agreements.
If the small minority of nations in those ranks decide to continue their fight that will likely involve attempts to blockade the laying of pipe across the British Columbia section.
The Kenney government has taken its own steps to end protests and blockades against Trans Mountain and other pipelines in Alberta through new legislation to prevent a repeat of actions that halted work on the C$6.6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, the underpinning of the C$40 billion LNG Canada export terminal in Kitimat.
Kenney described the Coastal GasLink actions to block railways, roadways and commuter trains at a cost of up to C$1 billion as “simply and plainly illegal” amounting to “anarchy.”
Violations of his government’s legislation carries fines of C$1,000 to C$10,000, up to six months in jail, or both, whole fines for second offences would increase to between C$10,000 and C$15,000 - measures that legal scholars, indigenous leaders and activists are challenging in court.
Alberta has responded by calling on other provinces and the federal government to introduce similar laws.
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