B.C. joins Trans Mountain legal battle
VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government says it will join the legal fight against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, while warning the company that it can’t begin work on public land until it gets final approval from the province.
The NDP government has hired former judge Thomas Berger to provide legal advice as it seeks intervener status in court challenges against the federal government’s approval of the $7.4-billion project.
Premier John Horgan promised in the provincial election this spring to use “every tool in the tool box” to stop the expansion by Trans Mountain, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada.
Several First Nations and municipalities have filed legal challenges against the project, which would triple the capacity of the Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline and increase the number of tankers in Vancouver-area waters.
Environment Minister George Heyman said the project is not in the province’s “best interests.”
“A sevenfold increase in tanker traffic in B.C.’s coastal waters is simply too great a risk to our environment, our economy and to thousands of existing jobs,” he said.
B.C.’s former Liberal government issued an environmental certificate for the project earlier this year.
Trans Mountain has said construction on the project is set to begin in September, but Heyman said only three of eight environmental management plans required by the province have been accepted. It’s unlikely those remaining will get approval before work was to start, he said.
The other five management plans have not been accepted because the company didn’t adequately consult First Nations, Heyman said.
“Until that has been completed, Kinder Morgan, with the exception of some private land and some clearing of right-of-way, cannot put shovels in the ground.”
Heyman said a storage facility and marine terminal in Burnaby are on private lands, but the majority of the pipeline either passes through First Nations territory or public lands.
Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. president Ian Anderson said in a statement that they take the comments of the B.C. government seriously and will meet with the it to work through the concerns.
“We have undertaken thorough, extensive and meaningful consultations with Aboriginal Peoples, communities and individuals and remain dedicated to those efforts and relationships as we move forward with construction activities in September,” he said.
Heyman said the province is also committed to further consultations with First Nations on the project, including the impact it has on Aboriginal rights and title.
Fifty-one First Nations have signed mutual benefit agreements with Trans Mountain. Heyman said some do not necessarily favour the pipeline but want to ensure their people benefit if it proceeds.
“We want to consult with them on a range of other economic opportunities,” he said.
Attorney General David Eby said the legal challenges against Ottawa’s approval are expected to be heard this fall.