Intervener status sought by province

– The B.C. government has formally applied for intervener status in a court case involving Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.

Attorney General David Eby said government lawyers on Tuesday filed the required paperwork with the Federal Court of Appeal to seek intervener status in upcoming court proceedings that seek to overturn the project’s environmental approval.

“The court has to grant us permission and this filing today is the first step in that process,” Eby said in an interview. “It’s not our substantive legal argument, that we will make in front of the court. It’s simply a request in front of the court to be able to make that argument.”

The Federal Court will hear one case that combines 19 separate lawsuits from First Nations, local governments and environmental organizations that are seeking to overturn the National Energy Board’s review process into the pipeline project.

The NEB recommended approval of the project in 2016, subject to 157 conditions, which subsequently resulted in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau authorizing the project in November and former B.C. Premier Christy Clark announcing her support in January in exchange for a revenue-sharing agreement with the province.

The Alberta NDP government already has intervener status in the federal case, as it seeks to argue in favour of the pipeline, which will twin an existing route from Alberta to Burnaby.