Meantime, cabinet is under immense pressure to decide the fate of the pipeline before the federal election in the fall. The impact of the expansion on the southern resident killer whales — of which only 74 survive — is key to the discussion. But the happy news comes with a major caveat: no southern resident baby has survived more than a year since 2015. “No government has ever taken these kind of steps to try to address a critical species like the southern resident killer whale,” he said. The plan was not in place when the National Energy Board first reviewed the project, and Wilkinson notes the court didn’t take it into account either.

Source: National Post February 17, 2019 19:42 UTC