Opponents tell court Bay du Nord was unlawfully approved – National Observer

November 19 2024

Opponents of Canada’s first deepwater oil project are urging the Federal Court of Appeal to overturn its approval, claiming it was unlawfully sanctioned and sets a harmful precedent for future offshore projects.

On Monday, lawyers on behalf of Sierra Club Canada and Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn Incorporated (MTI) — a group representing eight Mi’gmaq communities in New Brunswick – argued that the federal government’s approval of the Bay du Nord project failed to consider marine traffic caused by transporting oil, and Indigenous communities were not adequately consulted. Their initial case was dismissed in 2023, but Ecojustice staff lawyer Anna McIntosh says the groups believe the judge “reached the wrong conclusion.”

Having poor consultation and leaving marine shipping out of the decision-making process is concerning in the context of Newfoundland and Labrador’s lofty goal of doubling offshore oil production by the end of the decade, explained McIntosh. The groups say the federal government should reassess Bay du Nord after more thorough consultation and consideration of the concerns raised by MTI around the project’s potential impact on species such as Atlantic salmon, and the effect the approximately 78 annual oil tanker trips will have on the marine ecosystem.

Read More: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/11/19/news/opponents-tell-court-bay-du-nord-was-unlawfully-approved