The B.C. government has rejected the proposal for the Northern Gateway pipeline project.

The province made the announcement in its final written submission to the Northern Gateway Pipeline Joint Review Panel.

The province said it won’t support the proposal because Northern Gateway has been unable to address British Columbians’ environmental concerns.

“British Columbia thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence and submissions made to the panel and asked substantive questions about the project including its route, spill response capacity and financial structure to handle any incidents,” said Environment Minister Terry Lake.

Lake said questions about the project were not satisfactorily answered during these hearings.

“Northern Gateway has said that they would provide effective spill response in all cases. However, they have presented little evidence as to how they will respond,” Lake said.

“For that reason, our government cannot support the issuance of a certificate for the pipeline as it was presented to the Joint Review Panel.”

B.C. has five conditions that must be met before the project can be approved, which include an environmental review, world-leading marine oil spill prevention and response, world-leading practices for oil spill prevention and response, the respect of First Nations’ treaty rights, and a share of economic benefits for the province.

The province said the stance is not a rejection of heavy-oil projects.

Enbridge says they are "working hard" to meet conditions

In a news release sent to CBC, Janet Holder, Enbridge executive vice president, says the company is working hard to meet the five conditions.

“As a British Columbian, I am personally committed, as is Northern Gateway, to building a pipeline project that meets the highest possible safety and environmental standards anywhere in the world and a project that creates new jobs and opportunities for British Columbians,” she said in the release.

“At Northern Gateway, we are driven by our responsibility to do what’s right for B.C.’s economy and for B.C.’s environment.”

Environmental groups say final decision rests with federal government, which is problematic

The Wilderness Committee says while they applaud the decision, the province has not yet attempted to take back its right to an independent, made-in-BC environmental assessment.

In 2010, the BC government signed an “Equivalency Agreement” with the federal government, which says that an environmental assessment of the Enbridge proposal carried out by the federal Joint Review Panel would constitute a provincial environmental assessment as well.

The Wilderness Committee says it is important to note that the word “joint” refers to a joint review conducted not by federal and provincial governments, but by two federal bodies – the National Energy Board (NEB) and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA).

“This announcement is positive news, and it clarifies that the government has been listening to British Columbians’ concerns,” said Eoin Madden, Climate Change Campaigner with the Wilderness Committee.

“Now they need to walk the walk and withdraw from the agreement that has taken away BC’s ability to do our own assessment.”

The Joint Review Panel will give its official recommendation when the review is complete, but the final decision on the project rests with the federal cabinet.

“It appears the BC government has taken our concerns about Northern Gateway to heart, but at this stage in the federal assessment process, it’s not their decision to make,” said Madden.

“If the province is serious about protecting our coastline and ensuring a safe healthy climate, it would do what it has the power to do and pull out of its agreement with the federal government – so that it has the real ability to stand up for BC and say ‘No’ to this pipeline.”

New Democrats say decision is "too little, too late"

B.C. New Democrat leader Adrian Dix said the decision is “too little, too late.”

“We know Ottawa continues to support the project, so saying ‘no’ today is a toothless gesture and the Liberals know it,” Dix said.

“If they had any interest in actually stopping the pipeline from being built, the Liberals would withdraw from the agreement that gives Ottawa the only authority for approval of the pipeline. The B.C. Liberals avoided taking a position on this project for years. Even with this submission, the final say rests with Stephen Harper.”

British Columbia will be presenting oral final arguments to the Joint Review Panel when hearings recommence in Terrace on June 17, based on B.C.’s final written submission.