EDMONTON - The lawyer acting for people fighting a power line east of Edmonton is going to court.
Keith Wilson says he has filed papers asking the Alberta Court of Appeal to hear arguments alleging the Alberta Utilities Commission botched the job when it approved the Heartland Line earlier this month.
Wilson says the commission didn't take into account all the impacts of the line when it made its decision, and was unduly influenced by Premier Alison Redford.
Redford has said publicly she wanted the line built because more power is needed for heavy industry and other users northeast of Edmonton.
Wilson says given that Redford can hire or fire the head of the commission, Redford's public pronouncement was tantamount to telling the commission how to proceed.
A spokesman for the commission has said Redford was within her rights, given that cabinet passed rules two years ago giving it the right to determine where power lines are needed, leaving the commission only to decide where best to put them.
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