Panel poses six questions for federal approval of Trans Mountain pipeline
CALGARY — A panel struck last May to identify gaps in reviews of the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion says the government must answer six key questions before deciding the fate of the $6.8-billion project.
In its report released Thursday, the three-member panel, which heard from thousands of people from Alberta and B.C. at meetings and via an online questionnaire, says its mandate doesn’t include making conclusions or recommendations.
Instead, it said the government must ask itself questions such as how construction of the pipeline can be reconciled with Canada’s climate change commitments and how the government can be confident in its decision given “perceived flaws” in the National Energy Board and other regulatory processes.
Trans Mountain’s project is the first to face the additional review between NEB conditional approval, which it received last spring, and a ruling by the federal government, expected before Dec. 19.