Like Oil and Water? Canada's Administrative and Legal Framework for Oil Sands Pipeline Development and Climate Change Mitigation
The Extractive Industries and Society, 2 (2015) 785-801
17 Pages Posted: 30 Dec 2015 Last revised: 11 Jan 2016
Date Written: December 26, 2015
Abstract
This article examines the legal dimensions of energy development and environmental protection in respect of the oil pipeline approval process in Canada. More specifically, focusing on TransCanada’s controversial “Energy East” oil pipeline proposal, this article argues that the oil pipeline approval process in Canada is on a collision course with the core principles of sustainable development law, the constitutional protection of free speech and democratic self-government, and administrative independence in Canada. The article concludes by exploring the relationship between oil pipelines – and energy development more generally – and fundamental democratic values.
Keywords: climate change; oil sands pipelines; Canadian constitutional and administrative law
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