Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

First Nations' Challenges Of Northern Gateway Pipeline To Be Heard In Court

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Oct, 2015 10:19 AM
    VANCOUVER — Multiple legal challenges aimed at overturning the federal government's approval of the Enbridge (TSX:ENB) Northern Gateway pipeline will be heard starting Thursday.
     
    The challenges are expected to bring new scrutiny to the government's environmental approval process and its responsibility to consult with aboriginal groups.
     
    Eight First Nations, four environmental groups and one labour union launched the legal actions, which will be heard at the Federal Court of Appeal over six days in Vancouver.
     
    Their arguments include that the federal panel that reviewed the project didn't adequately consider threats to wildlife and oceans and excluded key issues of concern to First Nations.
     
    "There was no consultation," said Terry Teegee, a tribal chief with the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, which represents two communities that have filed litigation.
     
    "We didn't participate in the Joint Review Panel process because it didn't address the issues that we wanted, in terms of the cumulative impacts of the project as well as our title and rights."
     
    The government accepted the panel's recommendations and in June 2014 approved the $7-billion project that would carry bitumen from Alberta's oilsands to British Columbia's coast. There were 209 conditions attached to the acceptance.
     
    Canada's Attorney General, Northern Gateway Pipelines L Partnership and the National Energy Board are named as respondents to the challenges.
     
    Three organizations — Amnesty International, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and British Columbia's Attorney General — will make arguments as interveners.
     
    The federal government declined to comment ahead of the hearings.
     
    Speaking for Northern Gateway, Ivan Giesbrecht said the company recognizes traditional aboriginal land use rights and believes First Nations should share in ownership and benefits.
     
    "Our ongoing priority is to continue to build trust, engage in respectful dialogues and build meaningful partnerships with First Nations and Metis communities," he said.
     
    "We know we have more work to do in this regard and we are committed to doing this work."
     
    Giesbrecht said the Joint Review Panel's examination of the Northern Gateway project was among the most exhaustive in Canadian history, spanning 180 days of hearings.
     
    But Karen Wristen of the Living Oceans Society, among the groups that filed challenges, said the panel appeared to ignore crucial evidence submitted by interveners.
     
    Her organization's evidence indicated spilled bitumen would sink beneath the ocean's surface, making it impossible to recover using conventional technology. The panel's report, however, found the environment would recover within months or years — a conclusion that Wristen said there's no evidence to support.
     
    She said she hopes the hearings draw attention to Canada's "suffering" environmental assessment process.
     
    "I think environmental assessment in this country is in deep, deep trouble at the moment," she said. "It's not providing the kind of in-depth scientific review that the government would have us believe it is."
     
    Pete Erickson, a hereditary chief with the Nak'azdli First Nation, said Enbridge was given days to present its case to the panel while he got 10 minutes to speak for his people.
     
    He said a 2014 Supreme Court decision that gave land title to the Tsilhqot'in sets a precedent that requires the government to not only consult with First Nations, but seek their approval.
     
    "We've said that under no circumstances is the pipeline ever going to be allowed in the current presentation," he said. "We've decided that there's no way we can allow it and I believe that the court will recognize that we have the right to say that."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Rainy Crash On Twisting Vancouver Island Highway Kills Ontario Cyclist

    Rainy Crash On Twisting Vancouver Island Highway Kills Ontario Cyclist
    A 61-year-old Brampton, Ont., man has been killed in a cycling accident on a winding Vancouver Island highway.

    Rainy Crash On Twisting Vancouver Island Highway Kills Ontario Cyclist

    Oland Murder Trial Resumes With Testimony About Search By Canine Officer

    Richard Oland was found dead in his Saint John office the morning of July 7, 2011.

    Oland Murder Trial Resumes With Testimony About Search By Canine Officer

    Hardev Sihota, Associate Of K.S. Makhan, Gets 6 Years In Jail For Smuggling Heroin Into Vancouver

    Hardev Sihota, Associate Of K.S. Makhan, Gets 6 Years In Jail For Smuggling Heroin Into Vancouver
    The ruling noted that Makhan hired Sihota for his services as an electrician. His suitcase had a false bottom that had two plastic bags with two kilograms of heroin worth 645,000 Canadian dollars 

    Hardev Sihota, Associate Of K.S. Makhan, Gets 6 Years In Jail For Smuggling Heroin Into Vancouver

    Richmond Woman Sexually Assaulted By Man Pretending To Be Massage Therapy Student At Kwantlen

    Richmond Woman Sexually Assaulted By Man Pretending To Be Massage Therapy Student At Kwantlen
    RCMP say the man allegedly approached a 19-year-old woman at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and said he was doing a survey.

    Richmond Woman Sexually Assaulted By Man Pretending To Be Massage Therapy Student At Kwantlen

    Kimberly Mack, First Nations Woman Alleges Illegal Search, Says Police Threatened To Seize Her Child

    Kimberly Mack, First Nations Woman Alleges Illegal Search, Says Police Threatened To Seize Her Child
    Kimberly Mack will appear in provincial court in Bella Coola Thursday asking to be compensated $15,000 for what she alleges was an illegal search that failed to turn up any drugs.

    Kimberly Mack, First Nations Woman Alleges Illegal Search, Says Police Threatened To Seize Her Child

    Urban Deer Problems To Be Addressed By New Committee, Provincial Cash

    Urban Deer Problems To Be Addressed By New Committee, Provincial Cash
    The Ministry of Forests says the province is committed to creating a Provincial Urban Deer Advisory Committee and providing up to $100,000 for future urban deer management projects.

    Urban Deer Problems To Be Addressed By New Committee, Provincial Cash