B.C. approves LNG facility in Kitimat; to be majority owned by Haisla Nation

B.C. has approved the Cedar LNG export facility in Kitimat – a project that is majority-owned by Haisla Nation.

An eight-kilometre pipeline will transport natural gas from the Coastal GasLink pipeline to the Cedar LNG site, the province announced Tuesday (March 14). From there, the natural gas will be treated and chilled until it changes into liquid form.

The gas would then be transported about once a week – up to 50 times a year – through the Douglas Channel and out into the Pacific before making its way to buyers in Asia.

The green-lit project comes three weeks after LNG Canada and FortisBC joined the First Nations LNG Alliance, which has its roots among northwestern First Nations who already have a stake in the LNG industry.

Haisla Nation Chief Crystal Smith called the decision historic.

"Today is about changing the course of history. A history where Indigenous people were left on the sidelines," Smith told reporters in Vancouver, adding that this will give the Haisla nation more control over their future.

In addition to announcing the project's green light, the province also announced a new energy action framework to cap emissions and electrify clean energy – all of which was built around this latest project.

The province says the project is one of the lowest-emitting facilities of its kind in the world.

Next steps include entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Haisla Nation.

Skeena MLA Ellis Ross, who is also shadow minister for energy and LNG files, said in a separate statement that the approval of Cedar LNG is long overdue.

"A glaring issue in this approval is whether British Columbia has the electrical infrastructure needed for the turbines that are supposed to power this plant," he said.

Still, the former Haisla Nation councillor called the move "one of the greatest examples of economic reconciliation" in B.C.'s history. He said the Liberals will be watching closely to see how Eby handles a series of meetings in Asia in the coming days in terms of promoting further LNG projects.

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@janeskrypnek

jane.skrypnek@blackpress.ca



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