The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) has ordered the Trans Mountain Corporation to halt its oil pipeline expansion work in a wetland area near Abbotsford, British Columbia. This decision came after CER inspectors detected instances of environmental and safety non-compliance during their verification activity.
In its Inspection Officer Order, the CER specifically noted that Trans Mountain had breached section 94 of the CER Act along with condition 3 of Certificate OC-065. According to section 94 of the CER Act, corporations are obligated to exercise reasonable care for the protection of property and the environment. Condition 3 of Certificate OC-065 stipulates that companies must execute mitigation measures or policies designed to safeguard the environment.
The mandate issued by the CER compels Trans Mountain to undertake several steps: Firstly, work in the Wetland area must be stopped until the identified non-compliances are rectified. Secondly, all shortcomings and non-compliances found by the CER Inspection Officers, Indigenous Monitors and Trans Mountain’s Environmental Inspectors are to be corrected. Furthermore, an investigation into the root cause of the environmental non-compliances and the reasons behind the delay in rectifying deficiencies already raised by Trans Mountain’s Environmental Inspectors is to be conducted. Lastly, the corporation should carry out a safety inspection, followed by a report to the CER confirming that the site is secure for work to continue.
The Trans Mountain Expansion Project was originally approved by the Canadian government on June 18, 2019. However, legal disputes have followed the project. On July 2, 2020, for instance, an appeal by the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations against the pipeline construction was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada. Further, on February 4, 2020, a complaint from First Nations people aiming to delay the pipeline’s expansion was dismissed by Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal.
This recent order underlines the increasing scrutiny multinational corporations are facing in regard to their environmental and safety practices. Implementation of regulatory statutes by bodies like the Canada Energy Regulator exemplifies the global shift towards more sustainable environmental practices.