Hearings begin for First Nations, environmental group opposed to Trans Mountain
VANCOUVER — Several First Nations, municipalities and environmental groups that are opposed to the approval process of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in British Columbia will be arguing their position in the Federal Court of Appeal over the next two weeks.
The hearing beginning Monday in Vancouver consolidates numerous lawsuits filed by seven First Nations applicants, the cities of Burnaby and Vancouver, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and the Living Oceans Society, which claim the National Energy Board’s approval process was flawed and First Nations weren’t adequately consulted.
The $7.4 billion project proposed by Trans Mountain, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada, would triple the capacity of the Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline and increase tanker traffic off the west coast sevenfold. It received approvals from the federal government last year.
Eugene Kung, an environmental lawyer with West Coast Environment Law who has been involved in the case, said those fighting the pipeline want to see the federal government’s approval of the project overturned.