TransCanada is requesting arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) over US President Barack Obama’s denial of the Keystone XL pipeline and is seeking $15bn in damages.
The proposed 1,897km, 36in-diameter crude oil pipeline will begin in Hardisty and extend south to Steele City.
In its legal papers file, TransCanada argued that there were reasons to believe that the company would win approval to build the pipeline.
The company also argued that the rejection violated Nafta’s broad rights for foreign investors by thwarting the company’s expectations.
TransCanada was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: "None of that technical analysis or legal wrangling was material to the administration’s final decision.
"Instead, the rejection was symbolic and based merely on the desire to make the US appear strong on climate change, even though the State Department had itself concluded that denial would have no significant impact on the environment."
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By GlobalDataIn November last year, the President determined that the pipeline was not in the national interest.
In response to the rejection by the President, TransCanada vowed to use arbitration provisions in Chapter 11 of Nafta to recover costs and damages in January this year.
Environmental organisation Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said: "Today, we have a prime example of how polluter-friendly trade deals threaten our efforts to tackle the climate crisis, spotlighting the need for a new model of trade model that supports rather than undermines climate action."
