Today, the National Energy Board recommended that Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project be approved, subject to 157 conditions. The federal Cabinet will consider the NEB’s report, along with the feedback from a new round of federal public consultation to be conducted over the summer and fall, before making a final decision on the project by December 2016.
In response, Christianne Wilhelmson, Executive Director of Georgia Strait Alliance – an intervenor in the NEB hearings – made the following statement:
“No one is surprised by this outcome. The NEB review was broken from the start, and virtually guaranteed to rubber stamp the project. It failed to properly consult First Nations or the concerned public, it didn’t consider climate impacts and it excluded key evidence on how bitumen behaves when spilled.”
“The review process and the NEB itself has lost all public trust and the federal government knows it, so today’s recommendation carries no credibility.”
“Four months of additional consultation is not enough to fix the flaws in the former process, and won’t change one fundamental fact: Kinder Morgan does not have social license in BC.”
“First Nations, municipalities, the Province and the public have said “No.” A raft of court cases is already underway, and citizens have already been arrested in protest at the project. Communities clearly do not grant permission to Kinder Morgan, so permits cannot be granted by the government.”