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Federal NDP pulls out of NEB hearing

The federal NDP is pulling out of the National Energy Board review for the Kinder Morgan pipeline, even though the hearings are almost over. New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian wrote to the NEB Thursday to officially withdraw from the process.
Peter Julian
New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian is urging local financial institutions and landlords to defer mortgages and rents for April 1 for folks who have been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal NDP is pulling out of the National Energy Board review for the Kinder Morgan pipeline, even though the hearings are almost over.

New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian wrote to the NEB Thursday to officially withdraw from the process.

“Our expectation was the Liberals would keep their commitments and subject Kinder Morgan to a credible process,” Julian told the NOW.

The Liberals recently announced changes for the Kinder Morgan review, but the NEB’s hearing won’t change. Instead, the government is extending its own timeline to deliberate on the project. There will also be more consultation with First Nations and an upstream greenhouse gas emissions review.

The changes were disappointing to Julian, who said he was expecting a new process for the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

“It’s not really new process at all; it’s just window dressing,” he said.

The final oral arguments for intervenors ended on Friday, Feb. 5 in Calgary. The NDP was granted intervenor status, but the party chose not to make any final argument. The NEB’s three-person panel reviewing the project has until May 20 to deliver its final recommendation to the federal government.