The province of British Columbia has refused requests from some of the intervenors in the Northern Gateway Joint Review to provide witnesses for cross-examination during the final stages of the hearings.
In a letter to the JRP dated on July 20, and posted recently on the JRP website, Christopher Jones, counsel for the province in the hearings says: “I write only to note that the province is an intervnor, not a government participant. Also as the province has not filed evidence, it will not be providing witnesses for cross-examination at the final hearings.”
It was just four days later that Premier Christy Clark and members of her cabinet, in releasing the Liberal government’s five conditions for the Northern Gateway project which called for “Successful completion of the environmental review process.” The provincial government has consistently refused to take part in the proceedings, and with the credibility of the Joint Review process already under question because of the limitations on reviews in Stephen Harper’s Bill C-38, BC’s continued refusal to participate can only further undermine that credibility.
Province of British Columbia Questioning at Final Hearings (pdf)