CALGARY — Several aboriginal communities in British Columbia have filed court challenges over the federal government’s decision to fast-track the proposed Pacific Link crude oil pipeline to the West Coast, arguing that Ottawa designated the project as being in the national interest before adequately consulting them.The applications, which were filed in Federal Court last week, bring the total number of challenges to the national interest designation to ten, according to the Canadian Press.Alberta’s Cold Lake First Nation was the first to file a challenge on October 8.The applicants include communities along the proposed pipeline and tanker routes, as well as nations further away whose members rely on Fraser River salmon for their livelihoods. .Alberta First Nation challenging Ottawa's Pacific Link pipeline designation in court.The affected communities argue the federal cabinet failed to meet its duty to consult and exercised its powers inconsistently with the federal United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).The St’át’imc Chiefs Council, which represents nine nations in the BC Interior and Fraser Valley, is now asking the court to overturn the designation, saying Ottawa made a decision without fully assessing the risks to salmon and fishing rights.Pacific Link was the first project designated under the Building Canada Act.The national interest designation now puts the proposal on an accelerated timetable.If approved, the 1,200-kilometre pipeline would run from Bruderheim, Alberta — largely along the existing Trans Mountain route — to a proposed terminal at Roberts Bank in the Greater Vancouver area.Its estimated cost is between $35.2 billion and $42.7 billion.More than 130 aboriginal groups were consulted by the federal Major Projects Office (MPO) between July 3 and September 18.However, Tsartlip First Nation, located on Vancouver Island, says Ottawa did not give it enough information on the pipeline’s potential impacts..Carney denies Pacific Link pipeline is political move to quell Alberta independence sentiment.In its application, the community asks the court to affirm that Ottawa must meaningfully consult the nation before deciding whether the project is in the national interest.“The national interest designation concerns a multibillion-dollar publicly funded project that is not expected to be completed until 2032,” Tsartlip spokesman Adam Olsen said in a statement.“Yet the consultation and decision-making process happened in less than three months.”Justice Minister Sean Fraser has defended Ottawa’s approach, saying on October 28 that he was confident Bill C-5 complies with the Charter and that the federal government has met its constitutional obligations.“To the extent that there are concerns, my hope is that we can work through them through negotiation,” he said.The MPO is scheduled to begin its review of the proposal early next year, with a public hearing before the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator.The office expects to finalize the proposed conditions by September 1, 2027.
