The Northern Gateway pipeline project has run into another obstacle.
The British Columbia Supreme Court has ruled that the company must apply to the province for an environmental assessment certificate for the project.
The province also is required to consult with the Gitga’at First Nation about the potential impacts of the project on areas of provincial jurisdiction and about how they may affect Aboriginal rights, the court ruled.
The Gitga’at First Nation and the Coastal First Nations by way of a judicial review had sought a series of declarations setting aside, in part, the Equivalency Agreement entered into between the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office and the National Energy Board that removed the need for a provincial environmental assessment certificate.
In her ruling, Madame Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg found the agreement invalid to the extent that it removes the need for ministers to exercise their discretion. She also found that the province has breached the honour of the Crown by failing to consult with the CFN, and specifically the Gitga’at, prior to deciding not to terminate the agreement.
“This is a huge victory that affirms the provincial government’s duty to consult with and accommodate First Nations and to exercise its decision-making power on major pipeline projects,” Arnold Clifton, chief councillor of the Gitga’at, said in a news release.
Northern Gateway received federal government approval in 2014, following the recommendations of the federal Joint Review Panel.
A spokesman for Northern Gateway said in an email that approval of the project falls within federal jurisdiction and the decision by the B.C. court does not change that approval or the project’s environmental assessment.
“Northern Gateway and the project proponents, including Aboriginal Equity Partners, remain committed to this essential Canadian infrastructure,” said Ivan Giesbrecht. “We are working towards meeting the conditions set by the Joint Review Panel and conditions which the B.C. government may impose.”
