Premier David Eby is hopeful the Nisg̱a’a Nation can get neighbouring First Nations on board with its plans to build a floating liquefied natural gas export terminal, projected to bring in almost $17 billion to the Canadian economy over the next 30 years.
But even if that effort fails, Eby said the B.C. government can't let this opportunity pass it by.
"We're going to support the Nisg̱a’a and the work that they're doing with neighbouring First Nations to increase the level of support," Eby said in Vancouver on Tuesday, Sept. 16. "But we also have to move these projects. They are on fixed timelines. The opportunity is a limited window."
The Nisg̱a’a Nation-backed Ksi Lisims project proposes to build a floating platform on the Nation's territory about 50 kilometres north of Prince Rupert to export LNG delivered through the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline. On Monday, B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office approved the project, as did the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
The terminal and pipeline have come under intense criticism and legal action from other northern First Nations, including the Gitanyow Hereditary Chief and Gitxsan Nation, which will have sections of the pipeline built in their traditional territory.
Those Nations are concerned about the physical impact of the pipeline on their traditional lands, what it means for their communities to have an influx of workers living in "man-camps," and the effect on salmon populations that rely on the area where the terminal is to be located.
Tara Marsden of the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs takes issue with the idea of "increasing support," arguing that it is inconsistent with the ideal of allowing nations the right to prior informed consent. She said this runs contrary to the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to the principles which the B.C. NDP ran on.
"And it's completely contrary to the reconciliation commitment that we have through the agreements that we have with the provincial government around shared decision making, around joint decision making, and co-management of land and resources," she said in a telephone interview.
Eby acknowledged the difficulty in making decisions such as this, with seemingly intractable competing interests involved.
The Nisg̱a’a Nation sees the approval as a validation of its treaty rights.
"The treaty gives us constitutionally protected rights over our lands and lays out a pathway towards our goal of economic independence," Nisg̱a’a President Eva Clayton said, speaking alongside Eby on Tuesday.
But Marsden said there are environmental impacts of this decision on her Nation that are not being considered.
"It's not just about one Nation wanting to have economic self-determination," she said. "They have to be responsible and accountable to others."
She says the concerns of the Gitanyow and several other nations were disregarded throughout the environmental assessment process.
"We had to go to court because we were being excluded from the Ksi Lisims environmental assessment process," Marsden said.
The Gitanyow lost that suit, and Marsden is now concerned that terminal construction will destroy juvenile salmon habitat for both Sockeye and Chinook, the latter of which is in decline.
"We've been in conservation mode, not harvesting it, because it is on the decline," she said.
Another point of contention for environmentalists and First Nations is the U.S. ownership interests in the project, which is backed by a Texas-based consortium called Western LNG.
The B.C. Green Party is unhappy with the province's support of LNG as a whole, but its leaders are particularly incensed by the American ownership piece.
“The NDP has approved a foreign-owned, foreign-built fossil fuel project that will enrich US billionaires while leaving British Columbians to bear the costs," said B.C. Green Party interim leader Jeremy Valeriote, in a news release. "This desperate search for short-term revenue is the result of years failing to invest in the clean economy of the future."
But Eby argues B.C. LNG uses production techniques that are less fossil-fuel intensive than elsewhere, and having production here instead of in Alaska is beneficial for the province's economy and the environment.
"I'll tell you this, British Columbians are not going to stand by and watch Donald Trump build a dirty LNG facility on the coast of Alaska when we have the opportunity to build a low-carbon LNG facility in partnership with Indigenous people in a way that provides billions of dollars for Canadians," he said.
At this point, the ball is now in the Nisg̱a’a Nation's court to get the project rolling.
Meanwhile, the Gitanyow are assessing their options.
"Next steps are going to be to consider all legal options, and there's no decision made on that, and we'll share that when it's available," Marsden said. "And we will continue to have presence on the territory, should any activity start up."
