First Nations Cheer as Court Quashes Canada Tar Sands Pipeline

In a major victory for environmental and Indigenous movements, a Canadian court overturned on Thursday the government’s approval of Enbridge’s controversial US$6.5 billion Northern Gateway pipeline project, over 10 years in the making, due to a lack of consultation with First Nations communities along the oil pipeline’s path from the Alberta tar sands to the Pacific coast.

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The Federal Appeals Court canceled the green light Ottawa gave to Enbridge for the project in 2014 on the basis that “Canada offered only a brief, hurried and inadequate opportunity” for First Nations to give input on the proposed pipeline and did not fulfill its obligations to make “reasonable efforts to inform and consult.”

At least seven First Nations communities in the western coastal province of British Columbia would be significantly impacted if the Northern Gateway pipeline was completed, according to the ruling.

“We’re all celebrating a victory for the oceans and our way of life,” said Peter Lantin, president of the council of the Haida Nation, in a statement Thursday in response to the ruling.

Source: Enbridge Northern Gateway

The Haida and seven other First Nations, four environmental organizations and one labor union challenged the government’s approval of Northern Gateway and presented their appeal to the court last October to try to block the pipeline.

Northern Gateway is a proposed 731 mile (1,177 km) pipeline project that would carry 525,000 barrels of diluted bitumen tar sands oil per day across mountains, waterways and temperate rainforest en route from the heart of Alberta’s oil sands to the northern British Columbia town of Kitimat. Once at the coast, the crude would be loaded onto huge tankers to be navigated through narrow Pacific channels and storm-prone waters.

Opponents argue that the traditional First Nations way of life, economy and food sovereignty — reliant on the bioregional ecosystem — would be severely damaged by an oil spill, which could wreak widespread environmental havoc on pristine forest and marine ecosystems.

Critics also raise particular concern about the nature of Alberta tar sands crude. Given the density of raw bitumen, it must be diluted with other petroleum products before it can be transported through pipelines, posing a public health risk in case of a spill.

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The Liberal government has said that it will review the ruling before deciding next steps, suggesting it may not move to re-approve the project. Progressive critics of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have been skeptical that his environmental policies will mark a radical departure from the previous Conservative government’s pro-pipeline politics.  

Northern Gateway President John Carruthers said in a statement Thursday that Enbridge has not given up on the pipeline and remains committed to finishing what he called a “critical Canadian infrastructure project.”

While celebrating the ruling, some Indigenous leaders have warned that communities and movements cannot let their guard down, as the struggle may not be over and increased consultation will not change their opposition to the project.

The 94 recommendations of the Canada’s historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission on “cultural genocide” against Indigenous people include calls for the government to commit to “meaningful consultation” and free, prior, and informed consent for projects slated for traditional Indigenous territories.

During his campaign last year when the final reported of the commission was released, Trudeau said his Liberal party would adopt and implement all 94 of the recommendations, which broadly focus on raising awareness on the suffering inflicted on Indigenous people and shifting the national consciousness with respect to indigenous history.