Northern Pipeline Agency
The Northern Pipeline Agency (French: Administration du pipe-line du Nord) is a Government of Canada agency currently under the purview of Natural Resources Canada, and under the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade until 2004. The Agency was created in April 1978 with the proclamation of the Northern Pipeline Act to oversee the planning and construction of the Canadian section of the Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline Project by the Foothills Group of Companies, now owned by TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. (TCPL). Its mandate is stated as follows:
"The Agency's mandate is twofold. First, it carries out Government of Canada responsibilities in relation to the pipeline and facilitates the efficient and expeditious planning and construction of the pipeline, taking into account local and regional interests, in particular those of native people. Secondly, it maximizes the social and economic benefits from the construction and operation of the pipeline while at the same time minimizing any adverse effect on the social and environmental conditions of the areas most directly affected by the pipeline."