Northern Gateway: British Columbia Must Issue Its Own Approval And Consult With First Nations

In Coastal First Nations v British Columbia (Environment), 2016 BCSC 34, the Court decided British Columbia must issue its own environmental decision and consult First Nations on the Northern Gateway Project (NGP), instead of deferring to the federal environmental assessment and consultation processes. In doing so, the Court carved out a limited role for British Columbia to assess and decide on the NGP, an interprovincial pipeline that has been approved by the National Energy Board (NEB), and expanded the trigger for consultation with First Nations.

In 2010, the BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) entered into an Equivalency Agreement (Agreement) with the NEB. The Agreement stated that the NGP did not require a provincial assessment under the BC Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) and could proceed without an EAA certificate (EAC). The NEB and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency formed a Joint Review Panel in 2010. After the federal review, the Project