VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (January 18, 2012) - Jessica Clogg, Executive Director and Senior Counsel at West Coast Environmental Law issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement that President Obama’s has rejected TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline
“President Obama’s decision today to stop Keystone XL does not make it any more likely that the oilpatch will succeed in pushing tar sands crude through British Columbia.”
“West Coast Environmental Law has analyzed Canadian constitutional and international legal issues associated with the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, concluding that the large number of impacted First Nations, the strength of opposition to the project and constitutional weaknesses in the Crown’s regulatory review process create a volatile legal situation and a high probability of litigation by one or more First Nations that could delay or potentially derail the Enbridge project.”
“Over 130 First Nations groups in Western Canada have expressed their opposition to the Enbridge tanker and pipeline project, creating an unbroken wall of opposition from the US border to the Arctic Ocean. Dozens of these have already used their own laws to ban the Enbridge tankers and pipelines project in the north, and the Kinder-Morgan tanker and pipeline expansion in the south.”
“In recent days our staff counsel has been present to witness First Nation after First Nation on the proposed tanker and pipeline route as they stand before the National Energy Board Joint Review panel to declare that they will use all the legal means at their disposal to stop Enbridge tankers and pipelines.”
“The huge legal risks facing the Enbridge and Kinder-Morgan tanker projects from First Nations guarantee that this fight is only just beginning, and it's likely to tie these projects in knots for many years."
Backgrounders:
First Nations that have declared their opposition to proposed Enbridge tanker & pipeline project: http://tinyurl.com/7wva2nb
West Coast Environmental Legal Comment on Coastal First Nations No-Tankers Declaration: http://www.wcel.org/resources/publication/legal-comment-coastal-first-nations-no-tankers-declaration
-30-
For more information:
Jessica Clogg, Executive Director & Senior Counsel: 604-601-2501
Josh Paterson, Aboriginal and Natural Resources Lawyer: 778-829-8973