Prince Rupert, Port Edward, Smithers absent from coalition of communities penning LNG Resource letter

The Mayors of Vanderhoof, Burns Lake, Houston New Hazelton,
Terrace and Kitimat were part of a group of 14 northern mayors
to pen a letter of concern over a new challenge related to the
LNG Canada Terminal and pipeline project for Northern BC

Last week the Mayors of fourteen communities across Northern British Columbia, put their name to a letter expressing their concerns over the call from a Smithers resident who is calling for a federal review of the proposed LNG Canada terminal project for the Kitimat region.

The fourteen communities are expected to benefit from the development should it go ahead and outlined their concerns of the efforts of Mr. Michael Sawyer of Smithers, as well as the West Coast Environmental Law Association, which was also included in the correspondence of September 6th.

The letter comes in the wake of comments from TransCanada pipelines, which has described Mr. Sawyer's recent engagement with the National Energy Board as "vexatious".

The TransCanada subsidiary company Coastal GasLink would construct the pipeline to deliver gas to the Kitimat Terminal, should the project be given its final investment decision.

A press release from the fourteen Mayors on Friday outlines the support the communities have the proposed development and their disappointment with the timing of jurisdictional challenge.

While acknowledging the right to file a jurisdictional challenge, the main thrust of their argument is that the project would be of much benefit to the communities of the region and will create billions of dollars in taxes for all levels of government which will support such programs as education, healthcare, infrastructure and funding for environmental sustainability initiatives.

The correspondence also explores the range of benefits that First Nations communities stand to benefit from should the project move forward.

A copy of the letter was posted to the District of Kitimat website last week, the letter is available for review below:

A correspondence from fourteen Northern BC Mayors
outlining concern over a potential jurisdictional challenge
over the LNG Canada feed supply pipeline
(click to enlarge)

Six of the fourteen communities that published the letter are also members of the regional alliance known as the Northwest BC  Resource Benefits Alliance, a coalition of 21 local governments from Vanderhoof to Haida Gwaii which has been advocating for a larger share of provincial revenues related to resource development and has at times been strong proponents of the development of resources.

The mandate for the NWBCRBA includes this overview of its focus.

The RBA was created to negotiate a new funding agreement with the province to ensure that the Northwest benefits from the tremendous level of economic development activity in the region.

The absence of three of the membership of the Resource Benefits Alliance from the united front, might make for some discussions at the UBCM convention in Whistler this week, with all of the principles from last weeks letter in one place and eager to discuss resource related issues with the Provincial government.

And while Prince Rupert and Port Edward may not receive any direct benefits from the Kitimat project, those in the North Coast communities that wish to see resource development projects move forward might wonder if the two communities might not have lent their names the list of contributors.

Or, at least, offered up some public support towards the letter and the concerns from the 14 Mayors that did sign off on the correspondence,  making it part of the larger NWBCRBA goal of  moving LNG  and other resource development forward in the Northwest.

The regional alliance has kept a fairly low profile over the summer, it's most recent notes from June, provided some background related to plans for further community engagement and meetings, though no further updates have been provided on those plans in the last three months.

More background on the work of the NWBCRBA can be found here.

The topic of the intercession of the Smithers resident on the pipeline issue has caught the attention of both NDP MP Nathan Cullen and Skeena MLA Ellis Ross, with both sharing a number of thoughts on the issue in recent weeks.

August 21 -- Skeena MLA Ellis Ross pens letter of support for LNG Canada
August 18 -- Ross calls on Horgan to support pipeline
August 8 -- Cullen stays calm amid pipeline challenge
August 8 -- MP Nathan Cullen on attempts to delay the Coastal GasLink pipeline (video)

For more items of interest related to the LNG Canada project see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review