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OTTAWA — The Federal Court of Appeal rejected claims by several First Nations that federal officials failed to adequately consult with them on the Trans Mountain pipeline, removing the final major barrier hanging over the long-delayed project.

Tuesday’s decision, which struck a starkly different tone than a 2018 ruling, also sought to establish a firm line against Indigenous claims that they should have a veto over major natural resource projects deemed to be in the public interest.

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The judges ruled that “reconciliation does not dictate any particular substantive outcome” on a given resource project. They wrote that requiring a “perfect” level of consultation would in turn create a kind of de facto veto on major projects, and said First Nations “cannot tactically use the consultation process as a means to try to veto it.”

“Canada was under no obligation to obtain consent prior to approving the Project,” the judges wrote. “That would, again, amount to giving Indigenous groups a veto.”