Carneys LNG project referrals announcement in British Columbia getting mixed reviews

The day after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced two B.C. additions to the federal government’s list of nation-building projects for potential fast-tracking, reaction continued to roll in. The Nisga’a Nation applauded the prime minister for referring Ksi Lisims LNG, the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Line and the Nass Valley Regional Transmission Line to the Major Projects Office (MPO) for potential fast tracking. “Having diligently worked through a rigorous environmental assessment process, our focus now is on competing agreements with First Nations and securing all the required capital needed for project construction,” said Nisga’a Lisims Government President, Eva Clayton in a news release, as well as federal support for Indigenous Equity participation for First Nations along the pipeline route.” Ksi Lisims is a floating export facility on Pearce Island, that lies just off the northwest B.C. coast. It is expected to be powered by the North Coast Transmission Line, a 450-kilometre power line between Prince George and Terrace. Watakhayetsxw, a hereditary chief with the Gitanyow, shared her concerns with APTN News in an August 2024 interview that the facility could harm the fish and wildlife which the Gitanyow rely on. The Gitanyow have long had disputes with the Nisga’a over territorial overlap and applied for a judicial review of the Ksi Lisims project in B.C. Supreme Court Oct. 25, 2024, but lost. B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office, which then gave a greenlight to the project, said at the time it was “confident that the engagement process the EAO (Environmental Assessment Office) followed was adequate considering the circumstances,” with respect to the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs president Chief Stewart Phillip, reiterated concerns over the federal government’s One Canadian Economy Act (OCEA) “UBCIC Chiefs have been clear from the outset that OCEA poses a grave threat to the recognition and implementation of First Nations’ inherent title and rights and to the protection of the lands and waters we are entrusted to care for,” Phillip said. “There are First Nations opposed to LNG whose territory the Ksi Lisims and North Coast Transmission Line will run through, and they stand to face the brunt of the impacts. The federal government has empowered itself to override proper environmental assessment and consultation processes in the name of economic growth. That is entirely inconsistent with its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” The Green Party wants the Ksi Lisims project pulled from the list, citing active legal challenges from the Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla First Nations regarding inadequate consultation and environmental risk. “Canada’s commitment to free, prior and informed consent is not something that can be waived when it becomes inconvenient,” said Elizabeth May. “Pushing this project forward while First Nations are still in court signals that their rights are negotiable when politically inconvenient. That is unacceptable.” The listing of Ksi Lisims LNG and the North Coast Transmission Line gives B.C. four projects on the roster of projects that Carney says will add billions to the economy to move it away from an over-reliance on the United States. Two other B.C. projects were announced earlier this year in the first phase of priority projects. LNG projects have been a tough sell with many First Nations in B.C. Leaders of the nations opposed to the projects were not allowed in to Carney’s announcement at a Skeena Substation in Terrace, B.C. Thursday. Standing outside on a muddy road, Watakhayetsxw said she remains strongly opposed to Ksi Lisims LNG. “You know, if we did projects with clean energy, I’d be all for it, but this one with compressor stations and everything else that the government is planning, I’m opposed to signing,” she told reporters there. To help get the transmission line going, Carney said the Canada Infrastructure Bank was loaning $140 million to the provincial power utility BC Hydro for pre-construction activities such as project planning, engineering, fieldwork, procurements and consultation with First Nation communities. The transmission line would double the flow of electricity from Prince George to Terrace at a cost of $6 billion. Carney said the power line “will anchor a clean energy industrial corridor for generations.” Wetsewet’an Heriditary Chief, Na’Moks, who was also outside Carney’s announcement on Thursday, said he came to support his “relatives” “Well, we’re always going to stand with our relatives the Gitanyow,” he said. Na’Moks was a key figure in protests against the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline across northern B.C. The protests led to rail blockades by Indigenous people nationwide just before the pandemic. “They’re adamantly opposed to it. So we’ll always stand with them because they stood with us when we were fighting CGL, TG Energy Project,” he said. When asked whether he thought First Nations in the region would be properly consulted, Na’Moks was blunt. “Well, with our account, we’ve never been consulted on any of these. They can talk what they want, but they are not dealing with us because we don’t support it,” he said. Carney said First Nations were getting a say in projects referred to the Major Projects Office, and referral does not mean they are approved. “It means that all the efforts are being put in place from the federal government in order to create the conditions so it could move forward. But those decisions are taken by many parties, including, very much, First Nations.” The prime minister said the federal government is putting “huge financing” on the table for Indigenous equity ownership of the projects to help ensure they are fair. None of the investments being considered by the Major Projects Office have yet received a national-interest designation that would confer special treatment in permitting and approvals. With files from The Canadian Press Tags: B.C. Supreme Court, environment, Gitanyow, Ksi Lisims, lax kw’alaams, Major Projects Announcement, Metlakatla, namoks, North Coast Transmission Line, Prime Minister Mark Carney, projects, UBCIC, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Watakhayetsxw Continue Reading