Liberals extend deadline for Trans Mountain pipeline decision to June 18
OTTAWA — The federal government is putting off plans to pass judgment on the reconsidered Trans Mountain pipeline expansion proposal for nearly a month in order to finish its consultations with Indigenous groups, says Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi.
The deadline is being pushed back — from May 22 to June 18 — on the recommendation of Indigenous communities and former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci, who is advising the government on the consultation process, Sohi said Thursday.
“The government has consistently said that a decision would only be made on the project once we are satisfied that the duty to consult has been met,” he said in a statement.
The proposal to twin the existing Trans Mountain pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby, B.C., was first approved by cabinet in 2016. The Federal Court of Appeal rescinded that decision last August, however, declaring that neither the environmental review nor the Indigenous consultations had been properly completed.