An NDP government would quit Northern Gateway environmental assessment: Dix

VANCOUVER – B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix says if he is elected premier next year, his government will withdraw from the current environmental assessment of the Northern Gateway project.

Instead, the NDP will set up a “made-in-B.C.” environmental assessment within a week of taking office.

Dix opposes the pipeline proposed by Calgary-based Enbridge (TSX:ENB), and says a provincial assessment will ensure British Columbians have their voices heard.

The opposition leader acknowledges the venture would be costly, but he says there is a lot more at stake financially and environmentally for the province than the cost of the review.

The federal government has jurisdiction over the pipeline that would cross provincial boundaries, but the New Democrats have a panel of legal experts looking into whether B.C. can avoid Ottawa’s power to overrule such a provincial panel.

The environmental review process to examine Northern Gateway has been underway since January and has been given until the end of next year to complete its report.