In B.C., two ships passing in the night
Gas minister’s regime set to end before it begins
Too bad Ellis Ross, the former chief councillor of the Haisla Nation near Kitimat, is about to become one of the most powerful aboriginal cabinet ministers Canada never had.
Ross, British Columbia’s new minister in charge of leading the province’s liquefied natural gas sector startup, is expected to be history next week after only days on the job, along with Christy Clark’s Liberal government and its pro- resources agenda.
After making the Haisla a partner in major proposed liquefied natural gas projects through equity ownership, business development and land ownership, Ross ran for the Liberals in the May 9 provincial election to ensure LNG projects moved forward to final investment decisions. He won the Skeena riding in northwest B.C., previously an NDP stronghold. Clark appointed him cabinet minister responsible for natural gas development, replacing Rich Coleman.
In the Liberal throne speech Thursday in the Victoria legislature, Ross was singled out as “the first Indigenous cabinet minister elected to this place who carries a government portfolio. ( Ross) is responsible for shepherding the future of this industry. After 146 years since this legislature was founded, this is long overdue. He will carry the voice of Indigenous peoples who demand to be a full partner in economic opportunity into this place.”
In the speech, the Liberals defended their push to de- velop the province’s resource riches, while borrowing a series of initiatives from the NDP and Green election platforms to show they heard voters’ call for a better balance between economic growth and jobs, strengthening social programs and protecting the environment.
They stood firm on their drive to get long- planned LNG exports off the ground as a way to displace coal power around the world, on the controversial Site C dam as a way to continue to electrify the province’s economy, and for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. They also said they would continue to work on a plan to export hydro from B. C. to Alberta by strengthening transmission infrastructure across the Rockies.
But all those plans are in doubt or entangled in conflict.
The Liberals are expected to be out of power next week. The NDP and Greens have reconfirmed their in- tentions to defeat them on a confidence vote. They have pledged to block the Trans Mountain expansion, halt construction of the Site C dam pending the results of a review, and erect new barriers to LNG, despite growing aboriginal involvement in the business.
The response to the changing political landscape has been swift.
Producers of natural gas in the Montney aren’t waiting for the new government to pick their pockets and stall their plans. They’re stepping up efforts to send their gas to the U.S. Gulf rather than wait for LNG plants in B.C. to get built.
Cheniere Energy Inc., which has liquefaction facili- ties in Louisiana and Texas, said at an LNG conference in Houston this week it is in talks with “many” Montney producers to liquefy their gas. The company already sealed a deal with Calgarybased Seven Generations Energy Ltd. in March.
“I guarantee you I can l and that ( Western Canadian) AECO gas in the Gulf Coast cheaper than they can move that AECO gas to the West Coast,” Cheniere chief commercial officer Anatol Feygin told reporters.
Feygin said that producers in Western Canada require a $ 7- billion pipeline to get their gas to the West Coast, which “is going to be nightmarish for them to build, and fantastically expensive,” he told reporters.
Dan Tsubouchi, chief market strategist at Stream Asset Financial Management, said the new NDP/ Green conditions would add costs to B.C. LNG relat i ve to current expectations. “Montney producers can generate very strong returns at $ 2.50 AECO or lower, which gives them the optionality to look at almost any option to move their natural gas and still make a strong return,” Tsubouchi said in a report to clients.
A legal showdown is well under way between B. C. and Alberta over the Trans Mountain pipeline, which has received regulatory and federal approvals. It is expected to be resolved this fall, though the new B. C. government has promised multiple tactics to stall construction of the Edmonton-to-Burnaby line.
Meanwhi l e , the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association is leading the charge to protect Site C, where 2,200 people are working. The group even hired a plane to tow a banner circling the B. C. legislature during the throne speech to remind MLAs that “BC Needs Site C Jobs.”
After decades as an anti-resources battleground, the tables are turning in British Columbia. Opponents are now in power and the opposed, one way or the other, are being squeezed out, no matter the cost.
THE FIRST INDIGENOUS CABINET MINISTER WHO CARRIES A GOVERNMENT PORTFOLIO.