Enbridge won’t appeal Northern Gateway pipeline court decision

In June, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal reversed the approval of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline. Enbridge image.

“Meaningful consultation and collaboration…is the best path forward”: Northern Gateway president

TORONTO, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Oil company Enbridge Inc’s Northern Gateway pipeline project will not appeal a recent Canadian Federal Court of Appeal decision that reversed its approval pending consultations with aboriginal groups, it said on Tuesday.

“We believe that meaningful consultation and collaboration, and not litigation, is the best path forward for everyone involved,” Northern Gateway President John Carruthers said in a statement, adding that the project wanted the support of aboriginal groups.

A Canadian court in June overturned federal approval of the proposed project to carry crude to the western coast, sending it back to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet to reconsider.

Canada’s former Conservative government in 2014 approved Northern Gateway, which would carry oil from the Alberta oil sands to a port in British Columbia for export. Its construction was subject to more than 200 conditions.

After the approval, numerous British Columbia aboriginal communities, along with environmental groups, filed lawsuits seeking to overturn the decision.

(Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)