The National Energy Board is meeting with indigenous groups in Calgary on Tuesday to talk about the previously appealed Trans Mountain Pipeline.
In August, approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion was struck down by the Federal Court of Appeal.
The FCA said that the NEB’s review was flawed and that the federal government could not rely on it as a basis for its decision to approve the expansion.
The court also said that the federal government failed in its duty to engage in meaningful consultations with First Nations before approving the project and that there was no 'meaningful two-way dialogue.'
In September, Ottawa gave the NEB six months to redo its environmental review.
On Tuesday, the NEB restarted consultations and met in Calgary with 31 indigenous groups from Canada and the United States.
The Tsuu'tina First Nation says it is looking forward to working closely with the board.
“If we don't say our voice now as a Tsuut’ina, we're not asserting our own rights and authority over a project, which comes through our own land. So as any land holder or any land owner, they want to have a say in that,” said Chief Lee Crowchild.
Representatives from the Louis Bull Tribe, near Edmonton, expressed their concerns about spills and pollution and the impact on inland waterways.
The NEB says it is committed to hearing their concerns.
“It’s very much focused on how project-related marine shipping was scoped into the Canadian Environmental assessment portion of the proceeding. The board did very thorough comments and heard evidence on project-related marine shipping in the original hearing but the Federal Court of Appeal was looking for that to be handled in a different way and that is what the board is reconsidering now,” said Dr. Rob Steedman, NEB Chief Environment Officer.
The hearings will move to Victoria next week and Nanaimo the week after that.
The proceedings will continue until November 22 and the NEB must submit a report with full indigenous evidence no later than February 22.
