In the wake of TransCanada's announcement that it will no longer be pursuing Energy East, a familiar chorus of politicians have emerged to blame various actors for the pipeline's demise. This blame game, however, has largely ignored the significant role social movements played in derailing the pipeline. And second, there was the Charest Affair, where an apparent conflict of interest called into question the overall validity – and legality – of the National Energy Board's hearing on Energy East, causing delays. Approval process reviewIt is this groundswell of opposition that created the political space for policy-oriented opponents to Energy East to successfully advocate for a review of the National Energy Board's approval process, and for new interim measures to be applied to Energy East. So yes, the cancellation of Energy East was a business decision, but it was one made in a landscape that's been successfully engineered by social movements.

Source: CBC News October 13, 2017 09:00 UTC