Expect legal battle if Ottawa forces pipelines through, UBC legal expert warns – Vancouver Sun

Gordon Christie says Harper government has not satisfied the legal requirement for consulting B.C. First Nations

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Ottawa and B.C. First Nations will be tied up in a “legal quagmire” for years over proposed oil pipelines because the federal government has not satisfied a legal requirement for “meaningful consultation” with natives, a legal expert says.

The federal government is “trying to integrate native consultations with the environmental review process,” Gordon Christie, an associate law professor at the University of B.C., said Wednesday. “But when you have something like this — thousands of kilometres of pipeline that will have a serious impact on the interests of First Nations — the consultation has to be precise.”

“All indications are (First Nations) are gearing up to stop this,” Christie said. “It’s going to be a fascinating year.”

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