Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

BC NDP Government Makes Changes to Environmental Assessment Certificate for Trans Mountain

 


Changes to the Environmental Assessment Certificate for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, and recommendations to other agencies, have been made by George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, for the pipeline project that runs between Edmonton and Burnaby.

 

This provincial reconsideration process was a result of a federal Court of Appeal decision in 2018, and associated decisions by the B.C. Court of Appeal in 2019. Following the 2018 federal Court of Appeal determination that the National Energy Board (NEB) excluded project-related marine shipping from aspects of its review, the NEB undertook a reconsideration process and released a reconsideration report.

 

The federal government then used this 2019 reconsideration report to inform its decision to approve the project again. In September 2019, the B.C. Court of Appeal, in two cases, decided that because the ministers who issued the provincial certificate relied on the NEB’s assessment, they should have the opportunity to consider the changes in the NEB’s reconsideration report and determine if any changes to the certificate conditions, or the addition of new ones, are necessary, within the limits of provincial jurisdiction.

 

Upon direction from the ministers in March 2020, the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) undertook a review of the changes in the 2019 NEB reconsideration report on aspects of the project related to marine shipping. The EAO considered the portions of the 2019 reconsideration report that differ from the initial 2016 report to determine if any changes to the certificate conditions previously approved by ministers in 2017, or the addition of new ones, were required (within the scope of the provincial reconsideration process and the limits of provincial jurisdiction). More details are available in the ministers’ reasons for decision, below.

 

As part of the provincial reconsideration process, the EAO invited Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) and the City of Vancouver to participate in the process and formed a provincial advisory group to provide technical expertise and support the EAO’s understanding of key issues. The EAO also engaged marine Indigenous Nations, federal government departments, Trans Mountain and other parties, and held a 45-day public comment period prior to making recommendations to ministers.

 


The EAO set clear criteria to analyze the NEB reports and submissions received through the reconsideration process to determine what changes should be made to the Environmental Assessment Certificate, in particular:

 

  • whether the issues raised pertained to differences between the two NEB reports;
  • whether the Province had jurisdiction to make changes to EAC conditions or add new ones; and
  • avoiding unnecessary duplication with respect to existing Environmental Assessment Certificate or NEB conditions, regulatory mechanisms, NEB recommendations to Governor in Council, and/or federal government accommodation measures and initiatives.

 

As a result of the reconsideration process, the Province is making the following changes to the provincial Environmental Assessment Certificate:

 

  • Amending Condition 35 (Fate and Behaviour of Bitumen Research), requiring Trans Mountain to provide research updates every five years, and add local coastal governments to the parties requiring consultation on the research
  • A new condition requiring a human health risk report that includes:
    • identifying exposure pathways in the event of a marine spill
    • identifying roles and responsibilities of local, provincial and federal authorities in the event of a marine spill
    • consulting with Indigenous Nations, local governments and relevant agencies to develop the report that will provide important information as the federal government and its agencies prepare plans that address the potential impact to human health from spills
  • A new condition requiring Trans Mountain to develop a shoreline baseline data report, developed in consultation with various parties, that consolidates data at hypothetical incident locations along the shipping route that will strengthen restoration and recovery in the event of a ship-source marine spill
  • Adding Snuneymuxw First Nation to the list of Aboriginal Groups – Marine Shipping
  • Adding a definition for Potentially Affected Coastal Local Governments

 

In addition, Heyman and Ralston have provided advice to the federal government to consider and take action on concerns raised by participants during the reconsideration process that were outside of the B.C. Court of Appeal’s direction.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Budget 2027: After a Decade of Decline, NDP Budget Delivers an Assault on Seniors, Working Families, and Small Businesses

Peter Milobar, BC Conservative Finance Critic, condemned the NDP government’s latest budget as the result of a decade of decline that has left British Columbians broke, unsafe, and paying more for less.   “After ten years of NDP mismanagement, this budget is an assault on seniors, working families, and the small businesses that drive our economy,” said Milobar. “The NDP have turned their back on the people working hardest to make ends meet and the seniors who built this province.” Milobar pointed to a new $1.1 billion annual income tax increase and warned that the government is piling new costs onto households already struggling with affordability.   “This government keeps asking British Columbians for more, while delivering less,” Milobar said. “The question people are asking is simple: Where has all the money gone?” Milobar noted that BC has gone from a surplus in the first year of NDP government to a projected deficit of more than $13 billion this year, while prov...
Post a Comment
Read more

WARD STAMER -- Those are REAL forestry numbers, not just made-up numbers

The following is a condensed version of remarks Kamloops – North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer’s made, regarding Forestry, in the BC Legislature, on Tuesday afternoon (02/24/2026)   Let’s talk a little bit, when we talk about Budget 2026, about the forest industry, which is near and dear to my heart. Forestry remains one of British Columbia’s foundational industries. It’s a pillar that built this province. Entire communities depend upon it. Interior towns, northern communities, Vancouver Island regions, the Kootenays, the Lower Mainland, with manufacturing facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge, just to name a few — everywhere in BC is touched by forestry. One word that was not mentioned in Budget 2026 was forestry. That’s a shame, an incredible shame. It wasn’t an oversight – it was intentional. This government has driven forestry into the ground .... INTO THE GROUND! We can talk a little bit about some of the initiatives that this government has brought forth, to try to resurrect ...
Post a Comment
Read more

FORSETH -- Before anyone gets excited about one poll showing a candidate with a 25 percent lead, and 44 percent support overall, let’s give it a few more weeks

Is this based in reality -- how accurate are the numbers? In the past couple of weeks a couple of candidates, for the leadership of the BC Conservative Party, have been presenting polling results that they lead the pack – one even going so far as to say they have a lock on 44% of those who will be voting, and a twenty-five percent lead over the individual ranked second. I am going to say that this one, from Kerry-Lynne Findlay, is highly suspect. First of all the company conducting the poll, ERG National Research, is not a Member of Industry Bodies (the Canadian Research Insights Council), meaning they do not adhere to established industry standards for research, such as transparency, privacy, and methodological rigor. AI Overview states that ... based on alerts from the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and reports, ERG National Research should be treated with extreme caution regarding its reliability, and legitimacy, in conducting political polling. Before I even read this in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more