The tersely-worded statement from Natural Resources minister Jim Carr released late yesterday highlights just how badly the Trudeau government’s plan to push through two major pipeline approvals before making their promised wholesale revamps of the rules governing environmental assessments and the National Energy Board (NEB) has gone off the rails.

Update September 7: You can read my official filing with the NEB on the motion calling for Energy East panel members to step down here

You don’t have to read very far between the lines to see that the Minister’s suggestion that the NEB deal with scandals surrounding the Energy East pipeline “immediately” is a call for the two Panel members who are in hot water over secret meetings with pipeline lobbyists to step down (thank you, Mike de Souza of the National Observer for digging up the details), or for the Chair of the NEB to sack them.  

The reason he’s putting out press statements rather than doing it himself is because the NEB is an independent agency and it takes a vote from both the House of Parliament and the Senate to remove a sitting Panel member. It’s tricky for the NEB though, because the Chair himself was at the controversial meeting with former Premier and then-TransCanada contractor Jean Charest, so if it was wrong for the Panel members to be there (and the formal motion calling for their removal from the panel reviewing the Energy East pipeline makes a strong case that they broke the rules rather spectacularly), then why did the Chair allow it to happen?

It is undeniable that the NEB’s charm offensive (which was an attempt to restore their credibility with a dubious public) has gone horribly wrong. And if I were the Minister, I’d wants this scandal dealt with as quickly as possible before too much attention is focused on the deeper rot underlying the Charest affair.

But even a quick removal of the two Panel members won’t solve the bigger credibility issue.

The rush to render judgement on the Kinder Morgan and Energy East pipelines using the Harper-era approval process was always a bit difficult to reconcile with Trudeau’s scathing criticism of that process. The Liberal party’s election campaign platform promised to “make environmental assessments credible again” and Prime Minister Trudeau’s mandate letter to the Minister of Natural Resources instructs him to:

“Work with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, and the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs to immediately review Canada’s environmental assessment processes to regain public trust and introduce new, fair processes that will:

  • restore robust oversight and thorough environmental assessments of areas under federal jurisdiction, while also working with provinces and territories to avoid duplication;
  • ensure that decisions are based on science, facts, and evidence, and serve the public’s interest;
  • provide ways for Canadians to express their views and opportunities for experts to meaningfully participate, including provisions to enhance the engagement of Indigenous groups in reviewing and monitoring major resource development projects; and
  • require project proponents to choose the best technologies available to reduce environmental impacts.

Modernize the National Energy Board to ensure that its composition reflects regional views and has sufficient expertise in fields such as environmental science, community development, and Indigenous traditional knowledge.”

The mandate letter also states “No relationship is more important to me and to Canada than the one with Indigenous Peoples.  It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.”

On the campaign trail, Trudeau himself said the Kinder Morgan process would have to be redone. And the Energy East pipeline process isn’t due to be completed until late 2018.

So why use Harper’s rules to assess these mega-projects facing massive opposition from First Nations coast-to-coast, environmental groups and over 80 mayors, including the mayors of Montreal and Vancouver? And over 100 scientists have issued a public call for a moratorium on new oil sands projects like these pipelines, stating:

"No new oil sands or related infrastructure projects should proceed unless consistent with an implemented plan to rapidly reduce carbon pollution, safeguard biodiversity, protect human health, and respect treaty rights. The following ten reasons, each grounded in science, support our call for a moratorium. We believe they should be at the center of the public debate about further development of the oil sands, a carbon-intensive source of non-renewable energy."

We need an environmental assessment process for the 21st century that:

  • Undertakes a rigourous scientific evaluation of the project, including an assessment of whether there is a more environmentally-friendly alternative to achieving the goal (such as using energy efficiency and renewable energy to meet our needs in place of fossil fuels);
  • Adds a climate test which ensures that we live up to the Trudeau government's Paris climate commitment to keep warming to as far below 2 degrees as possible, with a goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees; and
  • Respects the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous peoples (as called for in the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights that Trudeau has embraced).

Until these underlying problems are addressed, pushing pipeline approvals through Harper’s review process is just going to generate more opposition.