The regulatory approval process for Pacific NorthWest LNG has taken more than 750 days and counting.
national energy board
Back when Canada's premiers and then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau debated what to put into what later became the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, property rights were one possibility and on the table.
Trudeau had pushed for property rights as justice minister in 1968, again as prime minister in 1969, and in 1980 during constitutional talks. But property rights never made it into the final 1982 Charter because Trudeau and Bill Bennett, then-Premier of British Columbia, were the lone advocates.
Activists in British Columbia have responded to the National Energy Board's approval of the Northern Gateway oil pipeline with threats of illegal activism reminiscent of the 1990s. Greenpeace spokesman Mike Hudema, for example, said his group will "do what it takes" to ensure the pipeline is never built (and he specifically mentioned civil disobedience).
The National Energy Board (NEB) released its report on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposal December 19, finding that plans for building the pipeline are sufficient for its approval. The report states We have concluded that the project would be in the public interest. We find that the project's potential benefits for Canada and Canadians outweigh the potential burdens and risks. The NEB did have a few conditions,209 of them in fact but assuming they are all met by Enbridge, the NEB says the pipeline project is good to go.