HORGAN SETS THE SCENE TO MAKE LNG PALATABLE
Premier’s approach seems calculated to confound supporters, surprise foes
When representatives of the liquefied natural gas industry approached the B.C. government seeking relief last winter, they presented the New Democrats with both an opportunity and a dilemma.
The opportunity was a goahead for the multibilliondollar LNG Canada project, including construction of an export terminal in Kitimat and a pipeline linking the site to the natural gas fields in the northeast.
The dilemma was that securing the investment would take greater tax and regulatory relief than the previous B.C. Liberal government had ever put on the table — and what that might entail in terms of a backlash against the New Democrats.
“They asked us what would the new government do with the LNG framework that existed from the previous government, one that we opposed in many measures,” Premier John Horgan told reporters this week. “And what will we be proposing, not just to LNG Canada, but to the industry, broadly.”
Moreover, time was a-wasting.
“The LNG Canada proposal for a final investment decision is coming on fast,” the premier continued during a news conference in the provincial capital Thursday, referring to the pending-bythe-end-of-the-year final investment decision.
Horgan’s response was to hearken back to the four principles for LNG development that the New Democrats laid out two years ago, including jobs for British Columbians, revenues for the province, partnerships with Indigenous peoples and climate action.
“So I asked Finance Minister Carole James and Environment Minister George Heyman to work together with representatives from LNG Canada to make sure we put in place guidelines and rules for the development,” the premier explained.
He also enlisted deputy minister of energy Dave Nikolejsin and assistant deputy finance minister Doug Foster to comparison-test the relief B.C. would have to offer in order to be genuinely competitive with rival jurisdictions.
The end result was the announcement Thursday of a package contingent on Shell and its Chinese, Korean and Japanese partners deciding to go ahead with LNG Canada. The terms would also be available to other LNG projects, assuming any other investors were prepared to come up with the requisite billions.
“It would be only if a final investment was realized and a commitment was made from those who wanted to participate in our economy, that they would proceed in the interests of Indigenous people, the people of B.C., our climate objectives, and the return to B.C.ers would be significant,” said Horgan.
The premier also came to the news conference prepared to contrast the NDP approach with that of the previous B.C. Liberal government.
“I can well imagine an announcement like this would have been made with much fanfare, maybe a balloon drop at some appropriate time,” said Horgan, with nary a Christy Clark-style hard hat in sight.
“But instead, I believe it’s important that B.C.ers understand that these are very challenging issues. Potential opportunity is extraordinary. Potential risks are significant. I believe LNG Canada is working diligently to address those risks and I believe it’s the responsibility of the government to make sure we’re working to develop those opportunities for all B.C.ers.”
The premier also tried to recast the previous government’s argument that B.C. would be aligning itself with the angels on climate change by exporting our cleaner natural gas to help wean China and other jurisdictions off reliance on dirty coal.
“So there is a net benefit to those communities to improve their air quality, to improve their greenhouse gas profiles,” said Horgan. “But we get no credit for that. To think that we can displace coal is a good thing for (them), but does not help us with our targets.”
Horgan’s claim that the New Democrats were doing things dramatically differently than the B.C. Liberals was the least persuasive part of his LNG pitch and he left it behind as quickly as he could.
More to the point was the premier’s framing of his own approach to these kinds of big-ticket decisions.
“I believe what we’re doing today is the business of government,” he argued. “We’ve laid out the framework that we believe will work. It’s up to the industry to make their choices.”
“If we can realize industrial development, if we can do that within a framework that protects our environment and meets our climate objectives, brilliant,” he emphasized.
“If we can ensure that genuine reconciliation can happen with Indigenous people, I believe we’ve not just checked all the boxes, but we’ve developed a framework that will mean something to B.C. now and into the future.”
Granted, key pieces of the frame — especially the climate action targets and the partnerships with Indigenous people — have yet to be realized, as Horgan himself acknowledged.
But not for the first time did Horgan’s pragmatic approach to the business of government lead to some controversy-generating decisions: a scientific review of fracking that rejected calls for a moratorium and gained support from industry; an independent review of the government animal health lab that rejected accusations of conflict of interest from anti-fish farming activists; and the decision to proceed with completion of the Site C dam on the Peace River.
It is too soon in the life of the NDP government to say how all these controversies will play out in electoral terms.
Still, to date, Horgan’s pragmatism does seem calculated to confound supporters and surprise opponents alike.
Potential opportunity is extraordinary. Potential risks are significant. I believe LNG Canada is working diligently to address those risks. PREMIER JOHN HORGAN