BC to question pipeline jurisdiction at Court of Appeal

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – The provincial government will file its legal challenge regarding pipeline jurisdiction by the end of the month.

This comes as the ongoing tug of war over the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project through Metro Vancouver continues.

The essence of the question is which level of government will have the final say on what type of product moves through pipelines like the Trans Mountain expansion.

“There are over 100,000 jobs in tourism alone that are at risk,” explains BC Environment Minister George Heyman. “$17 billion in the BC economy. I think British Columbians are counting on us to stand up for their jobs as well as our way of life and our environment, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

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Heyman says the province will file its case with the Court of Appeal by April 30th, but hasn’t determined the exact wording of the question.

“This process is about BC’s right under the constitution to regulate against the deleterious impacts on the environment, on the economy, on provincial interests of a project, whether it’s an inter-provincial project or a provincial project,” he adds.

Attorney General David Eby says the provincial government and Kinder Morgan, presumably, will be looking for an answer as soon as possible.

“It’s totally up to the courts. But when this matter is scheduled, and once it’s filed, then it will be in the hands of the court… We are moving as quickly as we can.”

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr says he’s waiting to see what specific questions BC puts forward, but to him there is no question about who has jurisdiction over the pipeline.

“We assert the federal jurisdiction that has been asserted by us before,” says Carr. “It’s also been commented on by courts including the Supreme Court of Canada. We think that federal jurisdiction is clear. We’re looking at legislation to see how we can enhance that.”

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