Liberals under pressure on LNG plant
Minister says science, not politics, will determine B.C. project’s fate
The Liberals know how much it will turn off voters if they make a decision that seems to be based on who was lobbying them.
The Trudeau government, under growing pressure to approve a showcase B.C. liquefied natural gas project, says it will base its decision on science and public consultation — and not politics.
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna made the comment in response to questions about the high-pressure lobbying effort underway to press Ottawa in advance of its decision on Pacific North-West LNG’s $12-billion project near Prince Rupert.
The decision “will be based on the best available science and on real and meaningful consultations with Canadians, including indigenous communities,” McKenna said in an interview.
McKenna was responding carefully but deliberately to questions about the considerable political pressure being put on a new federal government that has promised to restore Canadians’ faith in an independent, evidence-based environmental review process.
B.C. Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman, in justifying sending officials to Ottawa last month to deal with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s latest demand for information from the company, said his goal was to “overcome the delay” in getting cabinet approval.
“I’m confident that any remaining questions can be answered completely and quickly,” Coleman said. “They have to be. Jobs for British Columbians should not be held by unnecessary delays.”
The company has hired a B.C. lobbying firm with deep Liberal connections to help sell the company’s project.
In its latest filings with the federal lobbyist registry, Wazuku Advisory Group Inc. disclosed it arranged meetings in February between the company and 15 Liberal MPs, plus McKenna, Transport Minister Marc Garneau, and five senior political staff serving McKenna, Garneau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
On the other side, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs travelled to Ottawa last month to oppose the project.
And the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition has paid for eye-catching billboards near Parliament Hill suggesting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s image will be forever tainted if his government approves a project they say would be a “climate disaster.”
In early March, the company wrote to say it had serious concerns about several of the federal conditions that were included in the agency’s February draft assessment. The conditions, intended to protect sensitive local salmon habitat and sea mammals, especially porpoises, included one that could prevent construction from taking place around the clock.
Several of them would “threaten the viability” of the project if Ottawa stuck to its guns, according to Pacific Northwest.
McKenna said the ball is in Pacific Northwest’s court.
“We’re doing the work with them to understand their concerns.”
Only when satisfactory answers arrive will Ottawa’s 90-day clock start ticking towards a final cabinet decision. A company spokesman said the company is still in the process of assembling its response.
“While this latest request results in additional time and effort for PNW LNG, we remain committed to working with the government of Canada, area First Nations and local communities as we move toward building a world class, environmentally sustainable LNG facility on Canada’s west coast,” said Spencer Sproule.
Sproule also defended his company’s use of registered lobbyists to set up “informational meetings,” saying that’s been taking place for the past four years.
A lobby industry watchdog said anyone putting pressure on the Trudeau government should recognize those efforts could easily backfire. “The Liberals know how much it will turn off voters if they make a decision that seems to be based on who was lobbying them, or seems to be returning a favour for a Liberal Party supporter,” said Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher, a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa.