“The federal
government’s decision to buy the pipeline and become the owner makes it
impossible to make an unbiased, open-minded decision,” said Chief Leah
George-Wilson of the Vancouver-area Tsleil-Waututh First Nation. “After
consultation with our community and our council, we will be appealing this
decision to the Federal Court of Appeal.”

“This is like declaring
war on cancer and then announcing a campaign to promote smoking,” said Patrick
McCully, energy program director at the Rainforest Action Network. “But
this is far from a done deal. First Nations and Canadian environmentalists will
continue to fight this project, and their international allies will support
them in whatever way they can.”

“The federal government
has signed off on as much as an additional 15 million tonnes of carbon,” said
Environmental Defence Executive Director Tim Gray. “This is irresponsible at a
time when Canada is drifting
further away from meeting our Paris climate commitment, and inconsistent
with the climate emergency that was declared only
yesterday.”

“The reality is that the
government can put Canada on the path to a safe climate future and fulfill its
legal responsibility to protect endangered killer whales, or it can push this
pipeline through. It cannot do both,” said Ecojustice Nature Director
Margot Venton.