Niedermayer said Tuesday the Northern Gateway pipeline and its associated tankers are too great a risk to run through B.C.'s so-called "Great Bear region."
"It's tremendously important to me to be a Canadian for the Great Bear. The amazing places we have in our country are part of what it means to be Canadian," said Niedermayer, who grew up in Cranbrook, B.C.
Legal experts also say aboriginal groups and even the provincial government — should the NDP assume office — could mount legal challenges that would delay plans for years and add to the projects' legal and financial risk.
"I think we could see some constitutional battles reaching the courts. But I can't predict the outcome at this point," University of B.C. constitutional law professor Elizabeth Edinger said Tuesday. "But there will certainly be a serious attempt to delay."
