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Burnaby to appeal to Supreme Court of Canada on NEB ruling

NEB decision allowed Kinder Morgan to disregard city permitting and tree bylaws
city hall

Burnaby is continuing its fight against a National Energy Board (NEB) ruling that allows Kinder Morgan to disregard its bylaws.

On Friday, the Federal Court of Appeal announced that it wouldn’t hear the appeal from the City of Burnaby and the provincial government. But the City of Burnaby says it will now appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The NEB ruling exempts Trans Mountain from following Burnaby’s permitting and tree bylaws, arguing that the bylaws were unconstitutional because they conflicted with the federal government’s approval of the project. The provincial government has argued it was a mistake to allow for federal jurisdiction over an interprovincial pipeline.

Mayor Derek Corrigan told the NOW yesterday he was shocked and angry that the Federal Court of Appeal would not allow the appeal to be heard.

“I think that it was incumbent upon them to at least review the decision of the National Energy Board considering the very important constitutional issues that were raised,” he said.  “I think the National Energy Board has shown itself to be an agent of the oil industry. ... I think most people across Canada who have been in opposition to the pipeline feel the process hasn’t been fair and that it is in the direction of the oil companies.”