Shell Canada has failed in an attempt to use the federal government's new environmental assessment rules to try to bar Greenpeace from hearings on the company's proposed Jackpine oilsands mine in northern Alberta.
In a letter to the agency conducting the assessment of the plan, Shell lawyers had argued Greenpeace and two university professors no longer had standing under new rules contained in the Harper Tories' omnibus budget bill.
The new rules limit presenters to those who are directly affected by a project or those who have relevant information or expertise. But in a letter released late Wednesday, the agency turned down Shell's request. It said panel members were capable of keeping things on track.
