TransCanada Corp to face just one Energy East injunction

MONTREAL –  TransCanada Corp will need to fight just one injunction request related to its Energy East pipeline project after a court ruling Wednesday.

An environmental law group, acting on behalf of several organizations, was seeking an injunction to make TransCanada to become subject to Quebec’s Environment Quality Act.

But Quebec Superior Court Justice Martin Castonguay ruled the court proceedings can be folded right into a similar court action that has been launched by the Quebec government.

Quebec wants TransCanada to provide a more detailed account of its Energy East proposal, which may create a more complete environmental review process compared to one currently happening.

TransCanada lawyer Robert Torralbo argued it had been as much as Quebec’s attorney general to inquire about the courts to make a business to respect legislation which citizens cannot make such a demand unless the federal government will not do so.

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Although Castonguay noted environmentally friendly law group’s application for an injunction came prior to the Quebec government’s, he ruled it’s reasonable to mix the requests to avoid multiple, similar cases.

Quebec’s environmental review agency is scheduled to start a second round of public hearings in to the Energy East proposal on April 25.

The first hearings wrapped up in March with citizens from across the province grilling TransCanada executives on the risks and costs linked to the pipeline.

Energy East will bring 1.1 million barrels of oil a day from Alberta and Saskatchewan through Quebec and into News Brunswick for overseas shipping.

Environmentalists argue the pipeline increases Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the nation from meeting its climate change commitments.

Proponents from the pipeline say Alberta’s oilsands need to be developed for the country to grow its GDP and also have the money open to transition to a lower-carbon economy.