The B.C. Government has been dealt a blow today. In its unanimous decision, the B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled that the Province does not have the right to impose environmental laws that could kill the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. The expansion, from Edmonton to Burrard Inlet, would twin an existing pipeline to export diluted bitumen offshore. The B.C. Government has been opposed to the project. It turned to the Courts to grant it the right to change the Environmental Management Act and give it control to regulate a “hazardous substance.” The Court determined this would be in direct conflict with Federal jurisdiction over interprovincial pipelines.
The B.C. Government argued that both British Columbia and the Federal Government have a constitutional right to protect the environment from potential oil spills. The Court, however, ruled that the pipeline is an “interprovincial work.” Under Canada’s constitution, it’s the Federal Government’s responsibility, not the province’s, to regulate the pipeline through its National Energy Board.
Madam Justice Mary Newbury wrote: “Such a provincial law could ‘stop in its tracks’ oil flowing from Alberta to B.C.’s coast, and ‘usurp’ Federal Government jurisdiction in a project that needs to be decided in the interests of the whole country. At the end of the day…the Trans Mountain pipeline is not only a British Columbia project. The project affects the country as a whole.”
The National Energy Board had previously approved the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline. But the Federal Court overturned that decision because of oil spill concerns on B.C.’s coast. As a result, Kinder Morgan, the owner at the time, walked away. The Government of Canada purchased the pipeline for $4.4 billion. Not a bargain for Canadian taxpayers, since it was at the high end of its calculated value. But the Federal government felt the pipeline was in the national interest, so purchased it with little negotiation.
The B.C. Government is expected to appeal the Court’s decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. Stay tuned.
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