A Canadian court on Thursday quashed the government's approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Pacific, siding with indigenous people worried that increased tanker traffic will harm whales along the coast.
In its decision, the Federal Court of Appeal said Ottawa -- which reached a deal in May to buy the pipeline from Kinder Morgan for Can$4.5 billion -- must take a second look at the project, taking greater care to consult with indigenous tribes and consider marine traffic impacts.
The pipeline was to move 890,000 barrels of oil a day from landlocked Alberta province to the Pacific coast for export overseas, replacing a smaller crumbling conduit built in 1953. The project aimed to help ease Canada's reliance on the US market, and get a better price for its crude oil.
Ottawa approved the project in 2016 after an environmental review, saying it was in the "national interest." But it has continued to face stiff opposition from indigenous tribes, environmental activists, and local governments along the 1,150-kilometer route.
Indigenous groups on whose traditional lands the pipeline crosses have expressed concern that the increase in shipping will impede the recovery of killer whale populations in the area.
The court concluded that the National Energy Board made a "critical error" in not considering marine shipping impacts, leading to "unacceptable deficiencies" in its recommendations to the government to greenlight the project.
It also said the government failed in its constitutional duty to "engage, dialogue meaningfully and grapple with the real concerns of the indigenous applicants so as to explore possible accommodation of those concerns."
Morneau said at the height of the feuding that the government's purchase of the project "will ensure that we're able to safely get Canadian oil resources to world markets where we can get a fair price for them."