The Federal government has accepted the Northern Gateway pipeline project proposal, with all 209 conditions recommended by a review panel, it was announced on Tuesday.

 

However, this does not mean that the project has received final approval. B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak reiterated the provincial government’s claim that the project will not be approved unless five conditions have been met.

 

These conditions touch on issues such as Aboriginal rights, marine response, and “fair” compensation to B.C. for the risks it faces. So far, only one of these conditions – Federal government approval – has been met.

 

Polak did not provide a timeline as to when her government may or may not approve the project when asked. She added that unless Enbridge is able to provide “new information” that they have met these conditions, the project will be turned down.

 

The minister also said it would be “impossible to set a deadline for that because we don’t know what they are preparing to put on the table (to meet the unmet conditions.)”

 

The Federal government echoed the need for more work.

 

“Moving forward, the proponent must demonstrate to the independent regulator, the NEB, how it will meet the 209 conditions,” a release from the Federal government stated. “The proponent clearly has more work to do in order to fulfill the public commitment it has made to engage with Aboriginal groups and local communities along the route.”

 

However, Prince George-Peace River MP Bob Zimmer praised his government's decision soon after it was made public.

 

“Our government based this decision on scientific analysis which demonstrated that this project is a net benefit to Canada,” he said in a statement. “I have been supportive of the at arms-length joint review panel process from the beginning. It is now the job of the NEB to ensure that the 209 stringent conditions are met.”

 

The project is a pipeline that if built will carry crude oil over 1,100 kilometres, from Bruderheim, Alta. to Kitimat, B.C., for export. The proposed route travels near Tumbler Ridge.

 

Many aboriginal and environmental groups have expressed opposition to the project. One of these groups is the Wilderness Committee, for whom Peace Region resident Andrea Morison is a member.

 

“I think overall it’s disappointing, but I don't think too many people would be surprised,” she said.

 

Morison said she did not consider the conflict over. She noted that many First Nations groups have promised lawsuits against the project, “and they've got a lot of ammunition to bring to that.”

 

“This is just going to rev people more up,” she said. “There's a huge number of people that have taken a lot of action on this.”

 

One of these Northern Gateway opponents, the Dogwood Initiative, has vowed to hold a province-wide referendum meant to defeat the project should it move forward.

 

“The B.C. government is about to come under enormous pressure to approve Northern Gateway,” said Dogwood Initiative Energy and Democracy Director Kai Nagata in a release. “Premier (Christy) Clark needs to reject the proposal once and for all and deny the provincial permits necessary for construction.”

 

This opposition was echoed by the group’s Director of Organizing, Celine Trojand. She said that she grew up in Dawson Creek, and has family in the oil patch, but that she was still opposed to Northern Gateway.

 

“In the Northeast and for a lot of people, it’s not about the pipeline, it’s not about oil and gas, it’s about democracy and fairness,” she said. “(The Northern Gateway project) speaks contrary to our values … we need to be responsible – it needs to be measured.

 

"The Conservative Government's current trajectory takes them away from what I consider traditional conservative values. They are recklessly pushing a project forward for a fast buck' and that's contrary to some of the values that I care about, like living within our means and incremental change.”

 

Trojand added that Christy Clark had the power to drop the project, and said that pressure needed to continue to ensure that she kept the promise that Enbridge must meet B.C.'s five conditions for the project to approve.

 

In response to organizers like Trojand, Polak said she was “not going to speculate on what success (the Dogwood Initiative) may or may not have.”

 

Polak also said she was “not going to speculate what’s going to occur if court cases (against the project) are brought forward. People have the perfect right to do that.”

 

Another Liberal MLA, Peace River North’s Pat Pimm, said in response to the Federal decision, “I guess we’ll wait and see what happens with those five conditions.”

 

When asked if he thought the province would benefit from the project should Enbridge show that they could meet the five conditions and the project could move forward, Pimm said he “wasn’t going to speculate” about that idea.

 

Enbridge wrote in a statement that they would continue working towards meeting the 209 conditions set out by the Joint Review Panel.

 

“We also look forward to working with the British Columbia government on the five conditions for support of oil pipelines," the statement read.

 

Calls to Peace River South MLA Mike Bernier asking for comment about the decision were not returned as of press time.