B.C. government to unveil details on pipeline reference case

VICTORIA — Details are expected to be released today about British Columbia’s court case that questions if the province has the power to regulate the flow of oil from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Premier John Horgan has said a reference case will be filed in B.C.’s Court of Appeal by April 30, seeking to clarify the province’s rights to protect its environment and economy from an oil spill.

A B.C. government official says the scheduled announcement on environmental protection is about the legal reference case.

Horgan has said B.C.’s coast and jobs could be at risk if the Trans Mountain expansion goes through, tripling the capacity of an existing pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby, B.C.

Pipeline builder Kinder Morgan curtailed spending on the $7.4-billion project earlier this month, blaming opposition and delays in B.C.

The company set May 31 as the deadline for governments to find a solution to the impasse and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly vowed that the project will go ahead.

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