The Federal Court of Appeal issued its decision this morning (August 30, 2018) in the Trans Mountain pipeline litigation (Tsleil-Waututh Nation v Canada (Attorney General), 2018 FCA 153). The application for judicial review, launched by several First Nations and the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, challenged the National Energy Board’s (NEB) report recommending the approval of the pipeline project and the subsequent Governor-in-Council’s Order in Council that accepted the NEB’s recommendations and approved the project.
The court dismissed the judicial review challenge of the NEB’s report but quashed the Order in Council on the basis that the Governor-in-Council could not ‘reasonably rely’ on the NEB’s report given that the NEB’s process and findings were flawed. The court also found that Canada failed to fulfill its duty to consult Indigenous peoples.
You can read the reasons for decision on the court’s website: sleil-Waututh Nation v Canada (Attorney General), 2018 FCA 153
A live stream of representatives from the Squamish Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation discussing the decision can be viewed on CBC News.