Will the legal challenges to Trans Mountain end?
Posted November 7, 2019 7:33 am.
Last Updated November 7, 2019 7:34 am.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Could there be an end in sight to challenges against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion?
As Indigenous groups in the Kamloops area drop their challenges, another opponent continues its battle.
Environmental group Ecojustice said it’s taking its fight against Trans Mountain to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Lawyer for Ecojustice Margot Venton says the court needs to look at the effects of the expansion and the impact on the southern resident Killer Whales.
“Can the government approve the project notwithstanding those impacts? We say the law says no. Canada says the law obviously says yes. That’s a really important question they have to settle now, not just for this project.”
On the other side, several First Nations groups have expressed interest in buying the federally owned pipeline.
They’re being warned though to band together or risk not getting a deal done.
READ MORE: Coalition of Indigenous bands looking to buy 51 per cent stake in TMX pipeline
The Federal Court of Appeal is also hearing cases from seven Chilliwack-area First Nations, as well as the Coldwater Indian Band, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
Venton said she’s not sure what will happen if the Supreme Court rules against Ecojustice in its case.
“The Supreme Court will be the end of the road for this legal challenge, I really can’t say what would happen after that.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after winning the Oct. 21 election that Trans Mountain would be built despite opposition from other parties.
