TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE EXPANSION APPROVAL OVERTURNED

Finance minister pledges to push ahead with purchase despite decision

The Federal Court of Appeal has overturned Ottawa’s approval of the contentious Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, but Finance Minister Bill Morneau is pledging to push ahead with his government’s purchase of the project.

In a unanimous decision by a panel of three judges, the court says the National Energy Board’s review of the proposal was so flawed that the federal government could not rely on it as a basis for its decision to approve the expansion.

The court also concludes that the federal government failed in its duty to engage in meaningful consultations with First Nations before giving the project the green light.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government approved the project in 2016 and is so determined to see the line built that it announced plans this spring to buy the pipeline and expansion project for $4.5 billion after Kinder Morgan Canada balked at moving ahead with construction.

Shortly after the court ruling Thursday, company shareholders voted more than 99 per cent in favour of the sale.

Even with the court decision, Morneau said the project is in the national interest and needs to go ahead.

“Taken together, today’s decisions from the Federal Court of Appeal and Kinder Morgan shareholders are important next steps in getting this project built in the right way for the benefit of all Canadians,” he said in Toronto.

“As we move ahead with the project and the purchase, our government remains committed to ensuring the project proceeds in a manner that protects the public interest. That means ensuring the highest level over governance — including environmental protection. It means upholding or commitments with Indigenous peoples and it means responsibly protecting Canada’s and Canadians’ investment.”

The ruling requires the energy board to conduct a new review — which the court suggests could be kept short — and means the government will have to redo part of its consultation with Indigenous groups.

CP PHOTO Khelsilem (Dustin Rivers), right, elected councillor and spokesperson for Squamish Nation, embraces Tsleil-Waututh Nation councillor Charlene Aleck in celebration before First Nations leaders respond to a Federal Court of Appeal ruling on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, during a news conference in Vancouver on Thursday.