Pipeline credit Ray Bodden Flickr images
Over 100 groups from across Canada are calling for an immediate stop to the review of major oil pipeline projects.
In a joint letter addressed to Prime Minister Trudeau and Canada’s Environment and Climate Change Minister, the groups say pipeline reviews currently being carried out by the National Energy Board (NEB) are so flawed that they need to be immediately stopped and then fixed before being allowed to continue. They cite a number of serious problems with the current review process, including the failure to properly engage and consult with First Nations affected by the pipelines.
The groups say that stopping the flawed reviews is essential if the Liberals’ campaign promises are to be kept, which included reviewing Canada’s environmental assessment processes and ensuring that such reviews meet Canada’s constitutional obligations to First Nations. The groups also point out that fixing pipeline reviews is an opportunity to undo the recent damage to Canada’s environmental laws, including the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the NEB Act, the Fisheries Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act.
This is not the first time Canada has been called on to fix the NEB review process. Last year, twelve British Columbia First Nations wrote an open letter calling for changes to what they called the NEB’s “fatally flawed and superficial” review process.
Major pipeline projects currently under review by the NEB include Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Project and TransCanada’s Energy East proposal. For more information about these projects see our recent post here.
A copy of the letter can be found here.
A copy of the First Nations’ critique of the NEB’s review process can be found here.