The Federal Court of Appeal today threw out a challenge by Indigenous groups objecting to Ottawa's 2019 approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The feds' first approval of the project, in 2016, was dismissed in 2018 by the Court of Appeal, partly on the grounds that Ottawa had failed to meaningfully consult with affected First Nations. The second federal approval of the project came in 2019 after consultations with Indigenous communities.

The dismissed application had been filed by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the Squamish nation, and several smaller bands and First Nations.

Today's unanimous 3-0 court decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada within 60 days, but the victory by Ottawa means that construction can proceed on the pipeline expansion to transfer diluted bitumen and some refined petroleum product from Edmonton to the Lower Mainland of British Columbia to be exported by tanker to international markets.

In its decision, the Federal Court of Appeal said there were no grounds for "inferfering" with the latest approval. The applicants had argued that the federal government, the owner of the pipeline, had gone into the latest rounds of talks with the intent of pushing the pipeline through regardless of the outcome of consultations.

The judges said the government had listened carefully to the applicants' concerns and even made some concessions, noting that its actions had been "consistent with the concepts of reconciliation and the honour of the Crown".

The expansion project will triple the capacity of the existing pipeline and greatly increase oil-tanker traffic through southern B.C. waters, where Indigenous groups, environmental organizations, residents, and the provincial government have expressed concerns about danger to ocean wildlife—especially threatened orca populations and fisheries—and the coastal environment

A news conference by the Indigenous groups involved has been scheduled for noon today.