CALGARY C Hearings around the Energy East pipeline project will begin in a few days in Quebec after a judge within the province threw out an urgent situation injunction on Friday intended to force the work to endure another environmental assessment.
A coalition of environmental groups in Quebec filed an injunction in the center of February demanding that TransCanada Corp.’s Energy East pipeline undergo a Quebec government environmental assessment as well as the federal National Energy Board process.
In accessory for that injunction, Quebec’s Environment Minister David Heurtel filed an injunction Tuesday demanding that Energy East undergo an eco assessment in Quebec.
On Friday, Quebec Superior Court justice Elise Poisson ruled from the first injunction, filed by environmental groups, which asked for a halt to the hearing process because of come from Quebec next week.
No decision has been rendered on Heurtel’s injunction C which surprised TransCanada’s executives and lawyers when it was filed this week.
“This isn’t just a matter of respect, but equally an issue of fairness toward all firms that desire to do business in Quebec,” Heurtel said this week.
Related
- Quebec government files motion for injunction against TransCanada over Energy East pipelineQuebec government faces lawsuits whether it backs from Anticosti Island oil exploration project
-
-
-
TransCanada had previously reached a contract with the Quebec government to participate in environmental hearings underneath the province’s Bureau des audiences publiques sur l’environment (BAPE) in addition to the NEB hearing process.
Those BAPE hearings will begin Monday and last nine days in Quebec now that Justice Poisson has rendered her decision.
“We are prepared to fully engage in the BAPE process as mandated by Minister Heurtel and will be listening to your comments ought to brought forth,” Energy East vice-president for Quebec and New Brunswick Louis Bergeron said in a statement.
“We remain confident this BAPE process can address Quebecers’ concerns adequately,” he said.
The NEB has yet to create hearing dates for that Energy East pipeline, which would carry 1.1 million barrels of oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Quebec and New Brunswick at a cost of $15.7 billion.
The NEB and also the authorities support the making decisions turn on the power East project, but TransCanada said inside a release that the BAPE process will “complement” the NEB process.
TransCanada can also be partnered on an export terminal in New Brunswick, which would allow Canadian oil companies to transmit their crude overseas. At this time, most Canada’s oil is exported to the United States.
Once the NEB determines that TransCanada’s application for that Energy East project is sufficiently detailed, a panel will schedule hearings to find out whether it is within the national interest and the federal Liberal cabinet can make the ultimate decision on whether the project qualifies.
Those hearings will occur after the BAPE hearings conclude.
Financial Post having a file in the Montreal Gazette
gmorgan@nationalpost.com
Twitter.com/geoffreymorgan
