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How do you ‘accommodate’ those determined to stop the project?

The panel that struck-down the Trans Mountain approval acknowledged that consultations had been extensive but decided that the government had not responded “meaningfully” to them, including offering potential accommodation measures. But how many accommodations can possibly be made for a pipeline following a route along roughly the same right of way as the currently operating one? And how do you “accommodate” those whose avowed purpose is simply to stop the project?

Ironically, this decision comes after the Trudeau government had devised a consultation process specifically designed to correct what they termed the Harper government’s “mistakes” that led to the court’s denial of Northern Gateway. What the court has done is move the already extremely difficult goal posts set by the previous panel to where the “adequacy” of any degree of Aboriginal consultation is impossible to predict. This is sure to repel any company from pursuing resource projects near the so-called “traditional lands” that encompass virtually every square inch of B.C. and large parts of the rest of Canada.

The second reason cited by the judges for quashing the Trans Mountain approval was what they called the NEB’s “critical error” of failing to include the impact of increased ship traffic on endangered orcas inhabiting the region’s waters. But the facts paint a very different picture.

Due to the proximity of Seattle, Wash. to the Vancouver region — where Trans Mountain terminates — an analysis of tanker movements in the whale’s habitat must include both Canadian and American traffic. Essentially all tankers must transit the Strait of Juan de Fuca bordered to the north by Vancouver Island and to the south by Washington State. Every year, some 1,300 oil tankers, tug-pulled petroleum barges and industrial chemical carriers travel through the Strait of Juan de Fuca before entering the inland waters of the Salish Sea. The Canadian traffic turns north towards Vancouver and the American traffic goes south towards Seattle.