Work on the Trans Mountain pipeline has been suspended until early January after a worker in B.C. was injured this week and an Edmonton worker was killed in October.

The project is advancing as expected despite challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, a global slump in demand for fuel, a $5.2-billion rise in its estimated cost to $12.6 billion in February and ongoing protests by opponents, said CEO Ian Anderson in an interview.

'This case is about more than a risky pipeline and tanker project; it is a major setback for reconciliation,' Tsleil-Waututh Chief Leah George-Wilson said.

Jason Kenney said the decision is another "legal indication" the Trans Mountain expansion has been subject to "extensive and exhaustive consultation."

The dismissal effectively ends a years-long legal battle over the Trans Mountain pipeline approval.

The pipeline remained shut down Sunday, amid cleanup operations after an oil spill at the Sumas Pump Station in Abbotsford.

Trans Mountain said in a statement that construction on the expansion project is progressing well at its terminals and along the right-of-way in B.C. and Alberta with COVID-19 safety measures in place.

Work to lay 50 kilometres of pipe for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is almost half complete in Greater Edmonton.

The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to hear five challenges from environment and Indigenous groups from British Columbia.

During an emergency debate in the House of Commons Tuesday evening, Conservative MP Cathy McLeod, called the protests a "dress rehearsal" for TMX protests in the future.