First Nations court challenges pile up against Carney’s Pacific Link pipeline
Indigenous leaders have filed court challenges against the Canadian government's approval of the Pacific Link oil pipeline, citing inadequate consultation. The project is a key component of Prime Minister Mark Carney's strategy to reduce economic reliance on the United States.
Why it matters
This legal battle tests the limits of the Building Canada Act and highlights ongoing tensions between federal infrastructure goals and Indigenous land rights.
A pumpjack draws oil from a well head with the Canadian Rockies in the background near Longview, Alta. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Indigenous leaders have launched a new volley of court challenges against Prime Minister Mark Carney ’s push to rapidly approve the Pacific Link oil pipeline, arguing Ottawa failed to adequately consult an array of First Nations.
Two new applications for judicial review, representing nine First Nations, call on the Federal Court to quash Ottawa’s declaration of the proposed oil pipeline as a project of national interest.
At a Monday news conference in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, Indigenous leaders asserted that Ottawa’s plan is unconstitutional and effectively pre-approved the pipeline after cursory talks with some First Nations over three months through the summer.
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