The Joint Review Panel examining the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project will issue its report on Thursday afternoon.
After years of hearings, the three-member panel is poised to make recommendations to the federal government on whether or not the heavy oil and condensate pipelines, which would connect Alberta's oilsands with B.C.'s north coast, are both in the public interest and are able to be done safely.
The $6.5 billion project headquartered in Prince George has been a lightening rod for controversy ever since Calgary-based Enbridge first proposed it. Some First Nations and environmental groups strongly oppose the development because of the harm they feel it could do to northern B.C.'s environment, while the project is supported by some in the business community for its economic development values.
The panel's recommendations are not final, nor are they binding on the federal government, which holds jurisdiction over inter-provincial pipelines.
