Panel looking at future of the NEB heading to a skeptical Vancouver
CALGARY — A cross-country tour of the panel looking into the future of the National Energy Board heads to Vancouver this week, where many expressed dismay at the workings of the regulator following its approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion last year.
The five-member panel tasked with making recommendations on modernizing the NEB are looking to hear about potential changes to its structure, mandate and role that have been left largely unchanged since it was created in 1959.
Eugene Kung, staff counsel at West Coast Environmental Law, says the Trans Mountain approval created an “extremely low” level of confidence in the regulator for many in the Lower Mainland.
“So many community members that I’ve worked with over the last number of years self-fundraised, self-organized, hired lawyers, hired experts, put a lot a lot of energy, blood, sweat and tears into the process. And what I’m hearing over and over again is it was extremely disappointing and a waste of time,” he said.