Confidence flowing from the Alberta oil and gas industry even if the product isn’t

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – The entire process had to be started over again, but there is hope in the oil and gas industry that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project will go through. This as the consultation meetings between the National Energy Board (NEB) and indigenous groups continue in Calgary.

The new consultations are needed after the Federal Court of Appeals stopped the project in August, citing a lack of consultation with indigenous communities and not enough of an environmental review when it comes to researching the effects of increased tanker traffic off of the BC coast.

Nick Schultz is the VP of pipeline regulation with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).

He believes there will be progress from these latest rounds of consultations.

“That’s being undertaken in a very rigorous way in accordance with the direction of the court so we (CAPP) have great confidence that will be done appropriately,” he said. “Not to say that it is easy, or that there won’t be some controversy, or that there won’t be people who feel this is not quite enough for them, but this is all moving in the right direction.”

He understands that not everyone will be on board with this project, no matter what is undertaken.

“There is a whole bunch of folks who have adopted the ‘over my dead body approach’ to the project so whatever anybody does is not going to satisfy people of that mind.”

He believes many of the indigenous groups will have their lingering questions answered at these new meetings.

“There’s common ground there to build on for many if not all of the First Nations. There may be some that fall into the category of not wanting it under any circumstances, but one can only do so much.”

He said while it has been frustrating, the fact that the industry had to go back and start new consultation processes is a sign of how stringent the process to get a pipeline built in Canada is.

“Canada does this probably better than many other countries in the world. We have constitutionally protected rights that are taken very seriously.”

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