A week after the Federal Court of Appeal nullified cabinet approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that his government is considering all options to get construction back on track — including introducing legislation in Parliament.
Speaking to reporters in Edmonton, Prime Minister Trudeau said he wants to see "shovels in the ground as quickly as possible" because the project is in the country's best interests, adding that he also wants to satisfy the court's concerns to avoid further litigation.
"We're looking at various options, including legislation, including appeals, and we're looking at what we need to do to satisfy the court," Trudeau said. "We have to move forward on a path that takes community and environmental assessments into account."
Citing Canada's uncertain trade climate and U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist push, the prime minister said his government is "taking it seriously and we're moving forward because this pipeline project needs to get done and the only way it will get done is by doing it the right way ...Canadians understand how important it is to get our resources to markets other than the U.S. right now, across the Pacific."
Concluding that the federal government's consultations with indigenous peoples on the project were inadequate, Justice Eleanor Dawson nullified licensing for the $7.4-billion expansion last Thursday, halting construction only days after shovels hit the ground on the 1,150-km pipeline expansion project.
The court said that the National Energy Board should reconsider its environmental assessment process. At issue for the court was the board's silence on the impact the pipeline could have on the marine environment around the shipping terminal in ?Burnaby, B.C., situated at the end of the expanded line.
Ottawa could appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada — something Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has suggested. It also could pursue a legislative fix to ensure temporary operating permits or impose a tight timeline on a renewed consultation and assessment process.
Trudeau met with Notley Wednesday afternoon — their first face-to-face since the decision was made public. Before that meeting, Notley told reporters that any federal response likely would have to go beyond an appeal. After last week's court decision, Notley announced she is pulling Alberta out of the federal climate plan until construction resumes.
