On May 24, 2018, British Columbia’s Supreme Court dismissed two separate legal challenges to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project (the “Project”) that were brought by the City of Vancouver and the Squamish Nation. The petitioners argued that BC’s Environmental Assessment Certificate should be quashed based on alleged procedural, administrative and constitutional deficiencies.
The Project will triple the amount of oil being transported from Alberta to the Kinder Morgan terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia. It was proposed in response to requests from oil companies to help them reach new markets by expanding the capacity of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, which is Canada’s only pipeline with access to the West Coast.
Canada’s Federal Cabinet approved the Project in November 2016. Subsequently, BC’s Minister of Environment and Minister of Natural Gas Development issued the Project an Environmental Assessment Certificate.
Kinder Morgan Canada Limited is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. It is the largest natural gas network, and the largest independent transporter of petroleum products and carbon dioxide. Kinder Morgan focuses on stable, fee-based energy transportation and storage assets that are central to the energy infrastructure of Western Canada.
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP represented the Project proponent, Trans Mountain Pipeline ULC, with a team consisting of Maureen Killoran Q.C., Tommy Gelbman and Sean Sutherland (Litigation) and Jessica Kennedy (Regulatory, Environmental, Aboriginal and Land).