30 Sep 2016
Lethbridge Herald
THE CANADIAN PRESS — BANFF
Delays caused by the replacement of a panel reviewing the Energy East Pipeline project show that Canada’s regulatory system is flawed and must be fixed, says a former CEO of proponent TransCanada.
Hal Kvisle said Thursday the recusal of a National Energy Board panel in early September just after hearings on the controversial project began was a victory for activists whose only objective is to block the process.
“I think it’s another failure of (the) regulatory process in Canada that we can’t even commence a regulatory process without it coming off the rails,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“It’s regrettable. I’ve been making the point to the government of Canada for about 12 or 13 years there needs to be significant improvements in the regulatory process and here we’ve just had it thrown in the ditch again by people whose objective is really just to stop the whole thing.”
The NEB’s review broke down after hearings in Montreal were disrupted by protesters. Critics charged the panel was biased after learning that two of three panellists met last year with former Quebec premier Jean Charest, then a consultant for TransCanada.