Indigenous groups vow pipeline fight despite top court dismissal

Several B.C. First Nations vowed Thursday to keep their fight against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion going, despite losing what appears to be the last known legal option to overturn federal approval of the project.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an appeal from Squamish Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Coldwater Indian Band. The dismissal, which as usual came with no explanation for the decision, effectively upholds a decision by the Federal Court of Appeal in February that Ottawa’s June 2019 approval of the project was sound.

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said the government had worked hard to hear and accommodate concerns the communities have with the project and welcomed the court’s decision.

“The government approved TMX because it is an important project for Canada,” he said.

“Construction of TMX is underway and has already created more than 4,900 good, wellpaying jobs, will help us gain access to new markets for our resources and generate revenue to help fund clean energy and climate change solutions.”

The pipeline is expected to be in service in about two years.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called the dismissal another “legal vindication” for the pipeline, which was first proposed eight years ago but has been delayed by numerous legal challenges.

It clears the way for construction to continue on the project, which will nearly triple the amount of diluted bitumen that can be carried from Alberta’s oilsands to a marine terminal in Burnaby, B.C.

Kenney said 120 of 129 First Nations affected by the pipeline either approve or do not object to it.

“What I can tell you today is that this is not the end of our story,” said Tsleil-Waututh Nation Chief Leah George-Wilson, at an online news conference.

George-Wilson said she will now consult with her community before deciding what to do next. She and other community leaders said there remain some legal options open to them but declined to say what they are.

Thursday’s decision is the end of the road to have the courts overturn Ottawa’s approval of the project and is the fourth court victory this year for pipeline proponents, including the February Appeal court decision at the centre of Thursday’s case.

Ottawa has now approved the project twice, forced to do more Indigenous consultation and environmental review after the Federal Court of Appeal agreed with First Nations and environment groups that the first attempts were flawed. In February, however, that court said Ottawa had now lived up to its duty to consult.