Event16 January 2020Action

Supreme Court of Canada dismisses BC's appeal on heavy-oil permit rules from the bench

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the BC Court of Appeal's decision, ruling from the bench on the day of the hearing (CBC News). BC's government said it was disappointed but that the ruling did not reduce its concerns about a potential oil spill on its coast, and the litigation ended (Global News, Jan. 16, 2020).

Date

16 January 2020

Kind

Court ruling

Where

Canada

Evidence

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

Who

Government of British Columbia (subject); Supreme Court of Canada (acted)

Sources

• CBC News, “Supreme Court dismisses B.C.'s bid to save bill blocking Trans Mountain project” (external site), 16 January 2020. source record
• Global News, “B.C. government, environmentalists 'disappointed' over Trans Mountain court decision” (external site), 16 January 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.

  British Columbia's attempt to regulate heavy-oil shipments failed in court: a province holding the same lever did not stop the pipeline either.