Editor’s Note: Environmentalists cheered last week when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would follow the EU in adopting a ban on single-use plastics. Those cheers turned to jeers today with the announcement below. – FB
By Amanda Connolly and Jesse Ferreras of Global News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday afternoon that the federal cabinet has approved the expansion of the existing pipeline, which the government bought for $4.5 billion last year after regulatory and political uncertainty led Kinder Morgan to abandon the project.P
“Our government has newly approved the Trans Mountain pipeline going forward. The company plans to have shovels in the ground this construction season,” Trudeau told reporters, adding that “every dollar” earned from the pipeline as well as the future sale of it will be invested in clean energy projects.
READ MORE: 5 things to know about the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project
The project will proceed under the TransMountain Corporation, the Crown corporation that will be responsible for securing the permits needed to move forward with construction, though the timeline is uncertain — all existing approvals were quashed when the Federal Court issued an injunction last summer.
“It’s likely there will be challenges,” officials acknowledged during a technical briefing on the decision on Tuesday.
Officials say the situation is “unprecedented” but that there will be shovels in the ground this year along parts of the route.
Among the permits the corporation still needs to secure are: approvals from the National Energy Board to authorize construction, authorizations under the Fisheries Act, permits under the Species at Risk Act, approval under the Indian Act, authorization under the Canadian Transportation Act, and approval and licensing under the Explosives Act.
WATCH: Liberals give Trans Mountain pipeline expansion a re-start after review
The approval suggests that the government believes it has met the criteria laid out by a Federal Court judge last year in a ruling that slapped an injunction on the construction, which had only just begun.
It also means the government is confident the court will deem it has done adequate consultations with Indigenous stakeholders and also taken measures to mitigate the marine impact of the expansion if the approval is challenged in court.
Trudeau also said the government will be launching a new round of consultations on how Indigenous communities can get benefits from the project, including how they can get involved in the ownership and financial stakes in the project.
He added he knows the approval will raise a lot of questions for those with concerns about spills and the environmental impact of the project.
“To those who want sustainable energy and a cleaner environment, know that I want that too,” Trudeau said., noting there will be demand for Canada’s existing natural resources even as the world transitions to cleaner forms of energy.
“But in order to bridge the gap between where we are and where we’re going, we need money to pay for it … we should harvest some of what we have and invest the projects in what comes next, building the clean energy future that is already at our doorsteps.”
Owning the pipeline is expected to bring in $200 million in earnings per year for the federal government.
Earlier this year, the government delayed its approval of the pipeline after it did not complete its renewed consultations with Indigenous communities along the pipeline route in time to meet the deadline for cabinet approval of the project.
Following the ruling from the Federal Court, the government restarted consultations with 117 Indigenous stakeholders but refused to set a public timeline for when those talks would wrap up.
