Province to side with Ottawa in pipeline court battle
Saskatchewan will be taking the federal government’s side in an upcoming case to defend the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion from an attempt to block it in court.
The provincial government confirmed it had received leave to intervene in the case, which will be heard at the Federal Court of Appeal from Dec. 16 to 20 in Vancouver.
In September, the court gave the green light to six Indigenous applicants seeking judicial review of the federal cabinet’s second approval of the project, which will triple the capacity of an existing pipeline that sends Alberta oil to the West Coast.
They allege Ottawa did not adequately consult First Nations in a meaningful two-way dialogue, as required by a 2018 court ruling that struck down cabinet’s previous approval of the project for precisely that reason.
Don Morgan, Saskatchewan’s justice minister and attorney general, said the province is worried about the “precedent” the court would set if it ruled against the federal government, which has jurisdiction over interprovincial resource projects deemed to be in the national interest.
The province’s lawyers will make submissions to the court “on the need to fairly balance the duty to consult with other matters of public interest, such as transportation infrastructure,” Morgan said.
The duty to consult has been established in court decisions that require meaningful dialogue and engagement with First Nations affected by resource projects, as well as serious attempts to meet their concerns. Morgan argued that the second round of consultations has met the necessary standards.
“We think that the consultations that have taken place already comply with the current law,” said Morgan. “That’s not to say we don’t have respect and want to have understanding with First Nations and Indigenous rights but, in this case, it was a complex consultation.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeated his commitment to build the expansion after an election result that saw his party wiped out in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The federal government owns the pipeline after spending $4.5 billion to buy it, and the expansion has been a symbol of his pledge to combine environmental stewardship with continued support for the resource economy.
The Trans Mountain pipeline runs from the Edmonton area to Burnaby, B.C. It carries Alberta oil, but the Saskatchewan government argued that the expansion will benefit the provincial economy by relieving pressures on rail transportation that serves agriculture, mining and other resource sectors.
“We think it’s imperative that we support the proposition that pipelines are necessary for the energy sector for all provinces,” Morgan told reporters.
Premier Scott Moe has made expanding pipeline capacity part of the three-point “new deal for Canada” plan he challenged Trudeau to accept in order to dampen down frustrations in Western Canada that erupted again following the Liberal government’s re-election.
He also called for a pause on the carbon tax, which the province is still challenging before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Morgan said the two cases are “fundamentally different.” He expressed hope that co-operation on pipelines will improve what’s widely seen as an increasingly fraught relationship between Ottawa and Regina.
“In this case, I’m pleased that the federal and provincial government are going (in) the same direction,” Morgan said. “And maybe it will set a trend that we can work with them on more things.”
The provincial government argued in its release that lack of access to tidewater cost producers in Saskatchewan $3.7 billion last year, while depriving the province of $250 million in lost revenues. It said the pipeline expansion would provide significant relief.