Environmental activists fighting restrictions on testifying at hearings

An environmental conservation group is challenging restrictions on who can testify at National Energy Board (NEB) hearings on projects such as pipelines.

ForestEthics Advocacy has filed suit in Federal Court against the federal government and the NEB over new rules that make it harder for Canadians to appear before review panels unless they can demonstrate a direct impact of a project.

The group and co-plaintiff Donna Sinclair will be represented by constitutional lawyer Clayton Ruby.

“Through legislative changes snuck into last year’s Omnibus Budget Bill C-38, the Conservative government has undermined the democratic rights of all Canadians to speak to the issues that impact them,” Ruby said in a news release.

“Right now, they cannot question the development of the tar sands itself! We're challenging the legislation and the NEB’s new rules because they violate fundamental free speech guarantees enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

ForestEthics said it objects to a new nine-page application that anyone who wants to participate in hearings must complete before being allowed to appear. It also objects to provisions that allow the NEB to exclude anyone who is not "directly affected" by a proposed project, CTV News reported.

[ Related: Environmental watchdog worries Canada set to become pollution haven ]

Sinclair is part of the suit because her application to submit a "letter of comment" on a proposal by Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., to change the flow in its 700-kilometre 9B pipeline from southwestern Ontario to Montreal from east-west to west-east to accommodate oil sands shipments was rejected.

Ottawa claimed only eight of 178 applicants were denied outright because they had not filled out the application correctly, did not demonstrate relevant expertise or had no direct interest in the project, CTV News said.

Another 11 applicants, including some environmental groups and the Council of Canadians, were told they could not testify but could submit a letter for the review.

“Tightening the rules around public participation to the extent that any citizen of this country-–regardless of expertise or geographical location-–cannot express their concerns is an extraordinary and profoundly dangerous affront to our democracy," Sinclair said in the ForestEthics news release.

"I love my country and my beliefs call on me to respect our environment. That is why I chose to join this lawsuit."

Ruby will ask the court to overturn the changes and also seek an injunction barring the NEB from making a recommendation to cabinet on Line 9B until his constitutional challenge has been dealt with, the Globe and Mail reported.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver defended the rule changes.

“Focusing submissions ensures the review is informed by the facts material to the scope of the hearing, and protects it from being used as a tool to delay decisions,” he said in an emailed statement to the Globe.

[ Related: Northern Gateway panel releases 199 pipeline conditions ]

Critics have attacked the government's attempts to streamline the review process as part of a policy that favours large-scale natural resource development over environmental concerns.

Joint review hearings into Enbridge's controversial Northern Gateway pipeline through British Columbia have been dogged by protestors, causing temporary adjournments at some venues. That prompted the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to bar spectators from the hearing room in Vancouver and Victoria.

Spectators instead were told they could watch the proceedings via close-circuit TV from another room in the hotel where the hearings were held.