The proposed $5.4-billion expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline from Alberta to the British Columbia coast has already up-ended a provincial election, provoked civil disobedience and brazen legal showdowns and is expected to influence voters in the coming federal election.
The regulatory review that sparked much of the controversy is now entering the final stage. Proponent Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. submitted written final arguments to the National Energy Board on Thursday, and oral final arguments will start in Calgary on Monday.
With most of the review conducted in writing over the past 18 months, the hearings provide the first opportunity for the company and many pipeline opponents to meet face to face with the panel in charge of delivering a recommendation on whether the project is in the public interest by Jan. 25 to the federal cabinet.
Claudia Cattaneo – Financial Post – August 20, 2015.