Event18 June 2019Action

Federal cabinet approves the Trans Mountain expansion a second time, after renewed consultation

On 18 June 2019, the federal cabinet approved the Trans Mountain expansion again, by Order in Council P.C. 2019-820. The decision followed the National Energy Board's February 2019 reconsideration report, which recommended approval with 156 conditions, and a renewed consultation with Indigenous groups overseen by former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci. The government said the consultation had fulfilled the legal duty to consult, strengthened six of the conditions to address Indigenous concerns, and announced talks with Indigenous groups on sharing in the project's benefits, including through equity ownership or revenue sharing.

Date

18 June 2019

Kind

Permit

Where

Canada

Evidence

Action: Something was done: a law switched on, a tariff imposed, money committed. How evidence is weighed

Sources

• Prime Minister's Office, “Trans Mountain Expansion will fund Canada's future clean economy” (external site), 18 June 2019. source record
• Federal Court of Appeal, “Coldwater First Nation v. Canada (Attorney General), 2020 FCA 34” (external site), 4 February 2020. source record

Projects

• Trans Mountain (TMX), existing system

Claims that rest on this event

• SupportsMechanism

  Consultation gives First Nations no veto. Courts send approvals back for more consultation but rarely end projects: Trans Mountain's approval was quashed in 2018, granted again in 2019, and the pipeline was built. A nation that objects usually ends with an agreement or with an approval over its objection, so a nation that opposes and later signs reveals nothing about its motive. Provinces and towns holding the same lever end the same way.

  Cabinet approved Trans Mountain again in 2019, after a renewed consultation: the quashed approval came back.