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In recent weeks, Canadians have watched as two court rulings have overturned the plans of duly elected governments.

The first was the Federal Court of Appeals decision to quash the Trans Mountain pipeline project. The main grounds argued by the three judges was a federal failure to assess the impacts of increased tanker traffic on the West coast and to sufficiently consult with First Nations.

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What’s odd about these issues is that Kinder Morgan and the feds did both. When it came to First Nations, dozens of communities even signed mutual benefit agreements with the company. As for the tanker traffic, the studies have been exhaustive. The project was only conditionally approved by the National Energy Board, meaning there were still 157 hoops whoever owned the project had to jump through.

What we have here is the judges saying these weren’t fulfilled to an unspecified standard they appeared to cobble together on the spot.