Silencing Environmental Dissent?

On August 13, ForestEthics Advocacy Association, a Vancouver-based environmental group, and Donna Sinclair, a retired journalist, filed a notice of application in the Federal Court of Canada seeking a declaration that a section of the National Energy Board Act violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The action concerns s. 55.2 of the act, which was enacted in 2012 and governs a person's standing to participate in hearings before the board. It provides that, "the Board shall consider the representations of any person who, in the Board's opinion, is directly affected by the granting or refusing of the application, and it may consider the representations of any person who, in its opinion, has relevant information and expertise. A decision of the Board as to whether it will consider the representation of any person is conclusive."