B.C. First Nations file legal challenges to feds’ Pacific Link pipeline decision

First Nations in British Columbia have filed eight separate legal challenges to the federal government’s decision to list the proposed Pacific Link oil pipeline between Alberta to B.C.’s coast as a project of national interest, fast-tracking its review.

Among them is Tsartlip First Nation on Vancouver Island, which said it filed a Federal Court application for judicial review on Friday, asserting Ottawa had not “given sufficient information about the project and its potential impacts.”

Adam Olsen, a spokesman for the nation, called the pipeline decision “reckless” and “rushed,” saying in an interview on Monday that Ottawa had failed in its duty to consult Indigenous communities.

“Tsartlip has a responsibility, as has been expressed by our chief and council, to look after its territory, stand up for those places for the past, present, and future,” said Olsen, who is a former B.C. Green legislator.