Canada to name replacement panel for Energy East pipeline

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian government on Monday named three replacement members for a National Energy Board panel examining TransCanada Corp’s Energy East pipeline, the Natural Resources Canada federal agency said in a statement.

The original three-person panel quit in early September after it emerged two members had privately met a TransCanada consultant before the hearings formally started. The pipeline faces fierce opposition from environmental groups.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Additional reporting by Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)