MOST B.C. FIRST NATIONS OK WITH LNG PIPELINES

Economic benefits would seem to trump environmental concerns

When Premier Christy Clark breezed through Fort St. John this week to reinforce support for a liquefied natural gas industry, her government highlighted the latest LNG partnerships with First Nations in the region.

“LNG moves ahead for West Moberly First Nations,” declared the press release that coincided with Clark’s fourhour stopover Wednesday in the northeastern B.C. city.

The release then spelled out what the 280 West Moberly members stood to gain from a Natural Gas Benefits Agreement with the province, relating to a proposed pipeline within their traditional territories.

“West Moberly will receive an initial payment of $201,000,” said the release, referring to the Coastal GasLink pipeline that would run from the northeast to the proposed LNG Canada export terminal near Kitimat.

“If the pipeline proceeds to construction phase, West Moberly will receive a payment of approximately $1 million, with a further $1 million once the pipeline is in service. West Moberly will also receive a yet-to-be determined share of $10 million a year in ongoing benefits when this occurs.”

There was this too, from West Moberly Chief Roland Willson: “Securing the future of our community through good jobs and skills training is a key responsibility between one generation and the next. Our early and meaningful participation in this developing industry has given us the opportunity to ensure that we play an active role in shaping if, when, or how LNG develops in B.C.”

Willson’s statement of support is significant. A yearand-a-half ago he put the Clark government on notice that its drive to develop a hydroelectric dam at Site C on the Peace River was putting the LNG venture at risk.

“I’ve said you can’t have both,” the West Moberly leader told The Canadian Press in a widely reported interview back in September 2014. “If you want to push Site C, we’re not going to be in favour of any LNG projects, any of the pipeline projects up there.”

The West Moberly view was that their traditional territory could not absorb the environmental impact of both the dam and the expanded natural gas development associated with LNG.

“It’s too much,” he argued. “We’re already inundated with gas activity. When you look at that, well, they can’t have both.”

When the Clark government nevertheless greenlighted Site C three months later, it drew a stinging rejoinder from Willson.

“It was basically a spit in the face,” he announced. “We’re not going to be walking happily down the trail of consultation now. … We’re going to be reviewing all the LNG, all the pipelines, all the forestry, everything that’s going on and pushing back as much as we can. We are going to cause as much problems as we can on this.”

Nor has West Moberly given ground on the dam.

This time last year, Willson led a Site C protest at the legislature, presenting a load of mercury-tainted bull trout to dramatize the legacy of previous hydroelectric development on the Peace.

He has also petitioned the new federal government to revisit approval for Site C, citing the project as a viola- tion of West Moberly territorial, treaty and constitutional rights.

He’s joined some other members of the region’s Treaty 8 group of First Nations in fighting Site C in the courts, challenging the project overall as well as step-by-step approvals issued periodically by the provincial government.

“We currently have three court cases going on. Possibly four, now … we filed an injunction on the issuance of the water licences that the province issued here just recently,” Willson told reporter Bronwyn Scott of the Alaska Highway News earlier this month. “There is absolutely no need to rush the process. What they’re trying to do is … get so far down the road that they can’t turn back.”

Indeed, the B.C. Liberals have admitted as much. But even as West Moberly continues the fight against Site C, Willson has wisely decided to secure a piece of the action for his people on the LNG file.

Somewhat overshadowed in Wednesday’s announcement was the news that another Treaty 8 First Nation — one that last year abandoned the court fight against Site C — had also signed up for LNG benefits.

The 544-member McLeod Lake Indian Band has secured two agreements similar to the West Moberly deal.

The first, dealing with the Coastal GasLink project, provides $338,000 up front, $3.4 million down the road if the project goes ahead, then a further share of $10 million annually.

The second, linked to a proposed pipeline to feed the Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal near Prince Rupert, provides an initial payment of $295,000, further payments totalling $3 million if the project proceeds, and a share of $10 million annually once the line is operating.

The West Moberly and McLeod Lake deals brought to 62 the number of natural gas pipeline benefit-sharing agreements the B.C. Liberals have concluded with 29 First Nations.

Those include agreements with all but three of the 20 First Nations on the route of the pipeline to the Prince Rupert project and all but three of the 19 whose traditional territory flanks the Kitimat line.

In a province where even one holdout can blockade a project on the ground or tie it up in court, work remains to be done. Still, for all the obstacles to resource development in B.C., there’s no denying the high level of support for LNG among First Nations.

Our early and meaningful participation in this developing industry has given us the opportunity to ensure that we play an active role in shaping if, when, or how LNG develops in B.C. ROLAND WILLSON, We s t Mo b e rl y chief