The federal government announced a handful of changes to how oil and gas pipelines are run earlier this week, but pipeline watchers, environmental groups and First Nations communities are greeting the proposed reforms with some skepticism.
The measures include a $1-billion absolute liability for oil spills, more consultation with First Nations and expanded powers for the federal regulator, the National Energy Board, which oversees 73,000 kilometres of pipeline.
The Tuesday announcement by Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford came shortly after another proposed regulatory change that would put oil tankers on the hook for the cleanup costs of any spills.
Both are seen as an effort to shore up support ahead of the federal cabinet decision due by next month on Enbridge's controversial Northern Gateway pipeline project. The 1,200-kilometre line would transport Alberta's oil sands bitumen across B.C. to Kitimat for export to Asia.
These new rules seem "very closely timed to the upcoming cabinet decision on the Northern Gateway pipeline that everyone's waiting for," said Nathan Lemphers, former senior policy analyst with the Pembina Institute and a specialist in pipeline safety.
Lemphers says some of the proposed rules are big improvements, but still don't go far enough, particularly the $1-billion absolute liability for oil pipelines involved in a spill, regardless of whether or not they are at fault.
That absolute liability means a pipeline operator is liable for any cleanup costs and compensation from an oil spill, up to $1 billion, regardless of whether it is at fault.
Under absolute liability there is no defence in court to being off the hook for a spill. Under what is called strict liability, if a company can show that it was not negligent, it can try to get others to pick up or help with the tab, a procedure that can often drag on for years.
In the territories, pipeline operators face a maximum $10-30 million in absolute liability, depending on location, says Ecojustice lawyer Pierre Sadik. Unlimited absolute liability applies to some spills that harm waters with fish present.
But there are essentially no liability rules for federally regulated pipelines, which include those that cross provincial borders.
The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association says the liability change only formalizes the polluter-pay principle that its members already adhere to.
Environmental groups have advocated that the government institute an unlimited absolute liability, rather than capping the amount.
Having an unlimited absolute liability can also motivate companies to use best practices and manage their risks.
Ultimately, one group argues, it's best to have that deterrent because studies suggest that in most pipeline spills, only a small portion can ever be cleaned up. The rest of the spill tends to sink into the soil or dissipates.
In Tuesday's announcement, the government touted its efforts to enhance "Canada's world-class pipeline safety system."
But an Enbridge pipeline that ruptured and spilled 3.3 million litres of bitumen into Michigan's Kalamazoo River in 2010 has already cost more than $1 billion in cleanup and compensation.
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