The first protests came from the local people living in the area. Concerns and occurrences of spillage and water contamination drove people to protest. (4) (5) (6) Many environmentalists also protested its effects on marine life and climate pollution, demanding answers on how the government would keep up with the Paris Agreement standards with this project in place.  (7) (8) (9) The blatant risk of spillage and tanker traffic issues coupled with the project’s lack of effort to mitigate these environmental hazards were criticized as well. (10) (11) The response has been to silence them. This never changed, as shown by the words uttered by Alberta’s Energy Minister earlier this year in May: “Now is a great time to be building a pipeline because you can't have protests of more than 15 people.” (12) referring to the ban on gatherings in lieu of coronavirus precautions. Despite the public concerns gaining political support over the years, those in favor of the TMX continued to bypass laws and customs.

​

In 2015, the NEB put public hearings on hold after striking a piece of economic evidence that was prepared by a Kinder Morgan consultant from the record (13). Approximately half a year later, the federal government decided that from that point on pipeline projects would be assessed in terms of greenhouse gas emissions produced in extraction and processing of the oil, additionally requiring consultations with First Nations to go forward (14) as it is custom that the Canadian government recognizes the indigenous right to the land, therefore anything that goes through their land needs to receive their approval. However, despite opposition from several nations including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Kwantlen, and Coldwater, as well as the municipalities of Vancouver and Burnaby, the NEB and the federal government allowed and encouraged Kinder Morgan to continue their construction. When the First Nations filed a lawsuit against the project, it only resulted in the Albertan government receiving intervener status, which meant that the province in favor of the project now had legal rights regarding the disputes. The continuing dismissal of indigenous concerns over the project by the Canadian government is thought to have greatly harmed reconciliations, a process initiated to acknowledge colonialism and to reconcile with the indigenous peoples of Canada by allowing them rights over their land.

​

In 2017, the NDP and the Greens formed a coalition in BC to fight against the expansion project. The same year, Kinder Morgan requested to begin work despite failing to obtain municipal permits from the NEB which approved the request. The Minister of Natural Resources stated that the federal government sent the NEB a letter of support in conflict resolution (15) to get the project back on track after Kinder Morgan shared concerns that it is behind schedule. In return, the BC Environmental Minister rightfully called this act an “intrusion on a province’s right to enforce its own permits, regulations, and the interests of its own citizens.”  (16) and BC moved to restrict the import of diluted bitumen into the province until there were more studies regarding dealing with a spillage. Alberta responded by issuing wine sanctions on BC.