Enbridge’s Line 9 could be challenged in court

The Chippewas of the Thames First Nation has filed a request to the Federal Court of Appeal seeking leave to appeal the National Energy Board’s approval of Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline project. Enbridge wants to reverse the flow of Line 9 and increase its capacity from 240,000 barrels a day to 300,000. The 38-year-old pipeline runs between Sarnia and Montreal and will carry crude oil from oilfields in Western Canada and North Dakota eastward to refineries in Quebec. Final approval is contingent upon Enbridge meeting 30 conditions, mainly related to safety and emergency planning. Several First Nations took part in public hearings on the project as interveners, while more submitted letters of comment to the regulator, arguing that a spill from the aging pipeline could adversely affect their rights. Chippewas of the Thames Chief Joe Miskokomon said the federal government did not consult meaningfully with First Nations. “We feel that this raises the possibility of new impacts beyond the (pipeline) right-of-way and we are concerned about our water resources and the environment,” said Miskokomon in a Toronto Star report. “The federal government has to consider our treaty and Aboriginal rights enshrined in the Constitution.”