Like oil and water? Canada’s administrative and legal framework for oil sands pipeline development and climate change mitigation

• This article critically explores the relationship between energy development, particularly oil pipelines, and democracy in Canada.
• This article examines the legal and environmental dimensions of the controversial Energy East oil pipeline project in Canada.
• This article argues that the federal administrative approval process applicable to the Energy East oil pipeline proposal is on a collision course with the core principles of sustainable development law, the constitutional protection of freedom of speech, and administrative independence in Canada.

This article examines the legal dimensions of energy development and environmental protection in respect of the oil pipeline approval process in Canada. More specifically, focusing on TransCanada’s controversial “Energy East” oil pipeline proposal, this article argues that the oil pipeline approval process in Canada is on a collision course with the core principles of sustainable development law, the constitutional protection of free speech and democratic self-government, and administrative independence in Canada. The article concludes by exploring the relationship between oil pipelines – and energy development more generally – and fundamental democratic values.