OTTAWA— The federal government’s declaration that opponents of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion do not have a final veto over the project angered critics who say a revised consultation process is little more than a sham.

In announcing the second part of the government’s response to an August ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal, which put a temporary halt to the project, Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said Wednesday the government would not appeal the ruling because it takes “seriously” the Crown’s duty to “meaningfully consult” Indigenous communities and its responsibility to examine the marine environmental impacts of the pipeline expansion proposal.

However, Ottawa says it does not interpret the federal court ruling or the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People to mean those who object to the pipeline can block it.

“We’ll make our sincere effort to listen, consult and offer accommodations where those accommodations are possible, but we also understand there might be groups that will still oppose this project. That’s fine, because that’s their right to do so,” said Sohi.

“But that does not mean that if we fulfil our constitutional obligation that those groups may have a veto to stop this project. That is not our understanding of our obligations to fulfil our constitutional responsibilities to meaningfully consult with Indigenous peoples.”

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley tweeted that “Proper consultation and accommodation are a must in this process. We support that. But I do not support the federal [government’s] decision to not appeal the ruling on [Trans Mountain]. They chose another path that could be faster BUT until that path succeeds, their job is to keep all options open,” she wrote.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government decided to follow a “blueprint laid out by the courts.”

“If we were to appeal, it would take another few years before we could begin construction and we feel that the blueprint the court laid out for TMX will allow us to get things done quicker and get our resources to markets other than the United States in more rapid fashion,” Trudeau said.

Sohi said the government will now double government staffing and bring in experts to help redo consultations with all 117 Indigenous groups impacted by the project. The revised consultations will be designed and supervised by former Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci.

New Democrat Romeo Saganash slammed Trudeau in the Commons for already having made up his mind to expand the Trans Mountain pipeline over Indigenous people’s objections and not taking their “no” for an answer, while his colleague Nathan Cullen accused Trudeau of “paternalism.”

The Liberal government two weeks ago instructed the National Energy Board to reconsider its recommendation of the expansion proposal to take account of the effects of project-related marine shipping on species at risk like the southern resident orca whale population, in order to comply with the court ruling. The pipeline project calls for nearly a sevenfold increase in oil tanker traffic in Vancouver harbour and into the waters of Burnaby, B.C.

New consultations are being undertaken “with an open mind and in good faith,” and there is “no stop clock” or timeline for them to be completed, Sohi said. He added that the government was “not starting from scratch,” however, because a lot of information was gathered during the first review led by the NEB.

Sohi said the government does not believe it could meet its constitutional obligations by simply putting legislation in place to bypass the essence of the court’s ruling.

Conservative critic Cathy McLeod said although the Federal Court of Appeal gave the government clear directions, it is simply creating more delay and “consulting on how to consult.”

The Toronto Sun reported Wednesday the government is weighing whether to “gift” ownership of the pipeline to Indigenous groups. However two senior Liberal government sources with direct knowledge of the file said the story was flat-out wrong. Not only are there are no equity discussions underway, the Liberal government is still focused on getting the project approved before any other discussions can take place, the sources said.

In the spring, Finance Minister Bill Morneau declared there were several potential investors, including Indigenous groups, willing to buy an ownership stake in the pipeline.

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One source said since then there have been are hundreds of proposals “thrown out” but no major equity discussions are underway because “there is no pipeline approved at the moment.”

Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc

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