Pacific NorthWest LNG seeks more input from public, set to deliver update to Prince Rupert City Council

Last week's mail delivery brought the latest of public engagement options from Pacific NorthWest LNG.

With  the proponent of the Lelu Island LNG terminal project looking for some feedback from the public regarding their most recent Open Houses, or on other items of note about the project.

The household mailer features a letter from Pacific NorthWest which outlines some background on the most recent Open House related to the project, as well as delivering a short survey for residents to fill out.

For the most part, through the survey Pacific NorthWest LNG is seeking a review of their efforts so far when it comes to the preparation work for their proposed project.

For those that may not have the mailer still around the house, the contents of the information package can be found below.

Pacific NorthWest LNG letter
to the Community February 2015

Pacific NorthWest LNG
February Survey page One

Pacific NorthWest LNG
February Survey page Two

You can also access a feedback survey online from the Pacific NorthWest website and submit your answers through that option.

In addition to their door to door approach, Pacific Northwest will also be providing an update to Prince Rupert City Council on Tuesday night.

As part of a Presentation to Council Ms. Tessa Gill, Head of Corporate and Stakeholder Relations,  Community Relations Advisor Derek Baker and Ms. Anna Slubowski, Community Office Coordinator will deliver the latest in the company's ongoing communication sessions with the City.

That information session will be part of the regularly scheduled City Council Session for tomorrow night, which starts at 7 PM.

For those interested in hearing what the delegation from Pacific NorthWest LNG has to say to Council, the Live Video feed for the Tuesday session is available here. 


Council members will be able to ask questions of the group following their presentation, though any firm timeline commitment most likely won't be delivered at the Tuesday night information session.

In December, the Malaysian Energy company Petronas, the majority shareholder in the Pacific NorthWest LNG project delayed their Final Investment Decision on the proposed development.

It's anticipated that they will be outlining their plans for the future sometime in the first half of 2015.

For more items related to the Pacific NorthWest LNG project see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

"In the House" with Michael Smyth February 6 edition

Province columnist Michael Smyth debuts a new Political podcast for British Columbia, examining a number of hot topic in BC politics

In The House February 6 (audio)

Subscribe to the feed here

February 5 -- CBC's At Issue Panel -- John Baird's resignation

An archive of the At Issue features from the CBC's Flagship News program The National.

February 5 edition: Senatorial entitlements, Budget date set

 

Voice of BC -- The Media Panel

The debut edition for 2015 for Voice of BC

For the first episode of the year, Vaughn Palmer brings in Justine Hunter of the Globe and Mail and Global TV's Keith Baldrey for a look at the approaching provincial budget and Throne speech.

Voice of BC - The Media Panel from Voice of BC on Vimeo.

Prince Rupert City Council seeks nominations for two key Committees

Residents of the North Coast with an interest in the Performing Arts or in Transportation may want to make note of two Committee memberships currently available,  as the City of Prince Rupert looks to fill two volunteer positions.

One Director's position is available with the Performing Arts Society Board of Directors, those that have an interest in helping to shape the future of the city's Arts community have until February 13th to submit their letter of interest to City Hall.

Applicants should include a written description of the skills that they have to offer to the position, as well as any experiences that are relevant to the position.

More on the Performing Arts Committee position can be found here.

Some background on the Lester Centre of the the Arts is available here.

The Deadline for the Performing Arts Society applications is February 13th.

The Second Committee position is one shared with the District of Port Edward, as both municipal bodies are looking for a person to serve on the Prince Rupert Port Authority Board of Directors.

As with other Committee positions, those with an interest in the Port Authority position are asked to provide a letter of interest, as well as a short outline on what skills and experiences that you can bring to the Board position.

You can learn more about the opportunity here, as well as contacts for both the City of Prince Rupert and District of Port Edward, should you want more information on the process.

Background on the Prince Rupert Port Authority can be found here.

Deadline for the Port Authority Board of Directors position is February 27th.

Fore more items related to developments with the City of Prince Rupert see our archive page here, we also track items of note from Port Edward here.

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Cullen/Rice Letter to Tourism Prince Rupert outlines early comments on Alaska Ferry Terminal issue

A January letter to the Tourism Prince Rupert Board from both MP Nathan Cullen and MLA Jennifer Rice offers up a look at how the senior elected officials for the region were viewing the controversial Ferry Terminal project at the time.

The correspondence dated January 19th, for the most part, highlighted the steps that Mr. Cullen in particular had taken regarding the proposed redevelopment of the Terminal at Fairview Bay in Prince Rupert.

 The key passage regarding Mr. Cullen's efforts included this observation:

Nathan Cullen, NDP MP  for
Skeena-Bulkley Valley

As the elected federal representative for the region, Nathan has been pressuring the federal government in the House of Commons for action to protect Canadian jobs in Prince Rupert since this matter first arose. He will also be meeting with the International Trade minister's office and department officials to directly address this issue in the coming weeks.

In their letter to Tourism Prince Rupert, Ms. Rice and Mr. Cullen also make note of the moves taken by the Federal Government in mid January, making use of an order under the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act.

That decision sought to secure Canada's right to prevent compliance with the Buy America provisions for the Terminal upgrade.

Those that would disregard the order from the Federal Government, would be subject to the following fines and conditions.

Such a contravention is guilty of an offence and liable to: on conviction on indictment, in the case of a corporation, to a fine not exceeding $1,500,000 and in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $150,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both or, on summary conviction, in the case of a corporation, to a fine not exceeding $150,000, and in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $15,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

The letter from the MP and MLA was also distributed further to City Council members as part of their January 28th Information to Council review.

They end their letter with a hope for a clear resolution that prevents conflict between Canada and the United States government, and that  will ensure the Alaska Marine Highway Remains open well into the future.

North Coast NDP MLA
Jennifer Rice

The pair of Northwest politicians also advise that they will keep all of the local stakeholders updated on any new information regarding the project.

Since that Cullen/Rice advisory was first delivered to Tourism Prince Rupert, the State of Alaska announced that the Terminal renovation project had been cancelled.

The Governor later in January then expressed the opinion that the project should go ahead at some point, but outlined the need for a cooling off period before the State will revisit its plans for the project.

In the wake of those announcements out of Juneau, neither Mr. Cullen or Ms. Rice, have made any follow up comments regarding the latest developments.

Offering up no further thoughts as to how close the two sides may be towards a clear resolution, or what impact the moves from Alaska may have on the future of the Terminal redevelopment and tourism interests across the Northwest.

You can follow the timeline of developments on the Alaska Ferry Terminal situation from our archive page here.

Cross Posted from the North Coast Review

Aurora LNG to host Open House, Open Community Office in Prince Rupert

The first stages of community engagement for the Aurora LNG Terminal development will come in February, when CNOOC/Nexen, the company proposing the Digby Island Terminal hosts an Open House.

The introductory session for Aurora LNG will take place on Wednesday, February 18th at the North Coast Convention Centre from 5 to 8 PM.

Besides learning more about the progress of the project, those in attendance will be asked to complete a feedback form, to share their thoughts on the proposed development.

The information that Aurora LNG receives from the public during the Open House will be considered by the Project team, as part of their considerations  as they move forward with the environmental, technical and socio-economic items related to the development.

In early March, Aurora LNG has plans to open their Community Project office, having selected space in the Coastal Business Resource Centre as their new home in Prince Rupert.

The Coastal Business Centre is located at 344 2nd Avenue West, across from the Bank of Montreal.

Aurora released their most recent information bulletin in December on their website, reviewing some of the latest developments with their project.

Included in that review were some of the steps that the company is taking in the areas of impact, health and safety and engagement with communities on the North Coast.

You can learn more about the Open House and further details about the proposed Digby Island project from the Aurora LNG website.

For more background on the project see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review