Trudeau reiterates opposition to Northern Gateway pipeline route

The proposed Northern Gateway pipeline would travel through BC’s Great Bear Rainforest. Getty Images photo by Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski

Trudeau promised no tankers along coast of northern BC, making Northern Gateway unfeasible

By Allison Lampert

MONTREAL, July 5 (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to the route of Enbridge Inc’s Northern Gateway oil pipeline, casting further doubt on the prospects of a project fiercely opposed by environmentalists.

Canada’s former Conservative government had approved Northern Gateway, which would carry oil from the Alberta oil sands to a port in Kitimat, British Columbia for export.

But Trudeau, elected last year, has said he opposed the pipeline. His Liberal government has promised a moratorium on oil tanker traffic along the coast of northern British Columbia, a policy seen making the pipeline unfeasible.

“On the Northern Gateway pipeline, I’ve said many times, the Great Bear Rainforest is no place for a crude oil pipeline,” he told reporters in Montreal on Tuesday.

His comments come after a Canadian court last month overturned federal approval of the project, sending it back to Trudeau’s cabinet to reconsider.

After the court decision, Calgary-based Enbridge had said that it remained “fully committed” to building the pipeline and that it was working with partners to determine the next steps.

(Writing by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Phil Berlowitz)