Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) is not throwing in the towel on its Northern Gateway pipeline, despite a setback in the courts that will force the federal government to go back to First Nations and Metis people to consult further with them.
In June, the Federal Court of Appeal reversed the approval of the pipeline, sending federal bureaucrats back to the drawing board.
The Appeal Court ruled that a National Energy Board Joint Review Panel’s approval of the $6.5 billion pipeline was generally defensible. But it ruled that the federal government had failed in its obligation to properly consult with First Nations.
The ruling does not mean having to redo the entire regulatory process, but it does mean the federal government will need to go back to First Nations and Metis communities to consult further with them.
In a statement released today, September 20, Northern Gateway, a Canadian subsidiary of Enbridge, announced it does not plan to appeal the recent court decision, and supports the idea of conducting further consultations.
“We believe that meaningful consultation and collaboration, and not litigation, is the best path forward for everyone involved,” John Carruthers, president of Northern Gateway, said in a press release. “We look forward to working with the government and aboriginal communities in the renewed consultation process.”
One question for the federal government, however, is just how much such a renewed consultation exercise is worth, given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s stance on the pipeline.
Trudeau has said “the Great Bear Rain Forest is no place for a pipeline” on more than one occasion, and has promised an oil tanker moratorium that would effectively kill the project, unless it is rerouted.
The propose route is a 1,176-kilometre pipeline running from Alberta’s oil sands to Kitimat.
