Judges rule former Conservative government in 2014 failed to consult with groups on Northern Gateway project as matter is sent back to Trudeau’s cabinet

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A Canadian court has overturned the approval of Enbridge Inc’s Northern Gateway oil pipeline, adding another steep obstacle to a project fiercely opposed by environmentalists and many aboriginal groups.

The federal court of appeal ruled in a 2-to-1 decision released on Thursday that the government had failed in its duty to consult with aboriginal groups on the project and sent the matter back to Justin Trudeau’s cabinet for a “prompt redetermination”.

Canada’s former Conservative government in 2014 approved Northern Gateway, which would carry oil from the Alberta oil sands to a port in northern British Columbia for export. Its construction was subject to more than 200 conditions.

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After the approval, numerous British Columbia aboriginal communities, along with environmental groups, filed lawsuits seeking to overturn the decision.

In its 153-page judgment, the court determined that Canada’s consultation with aboriginal communities, also known as First Nations, was “brief, hurried and inadequate”. It said the government failed to grapple with their concerns and had not shown any intention to correct any errors or omissions in the original regulatory panel review.

“Missing was a real and sustained effort to pursue meaningful two-way dialogue. Missing was someone from Canada’s side empowered to do more than take notes, someone able to respond meaningfully at some point,” the judges wrote.

The court also noted it would have taken the government little time and effort to meaningfully engage with First Nations on the project, but that it was not done. Trudeau’s cabinet will now have to fulfill that duty before a new permit can be issued.

In April, the prime minister said he opposed the pipeline. Last year, his freshly elected Liberal government said it would implement a moratorium on oil tanker traffic along the northern coast of British Columbia, a policy seen making the pipeline unfeasible.

The court’s decision was heralded by environmental groups and First Nations, which said the decision “shuts the door” on the 1,177-km (730-mile) pipeline.

“Today’s ruling shows what the people have been saying all along – this pipeline will never be built. This is a victory,” Sven Biggs, a representative of one of the environmental groups in the lawsuit, said in a statement.

Enbridge spokesman Ivan Giesbrecht said in an email that the Calgary-based company was reviewing the decision.