Federal government approves Pacific Northwest LNG project

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RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – The federal government has given conditional approval to the massive Pacific NorthWest LNG project planned for BC’s northwest coast.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr and Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc travelled to Richmond to announce their government’s acceptance of what is expected to be one of the largest infrastructure investments in Canadian history.

There are 190 legally binding conditions attached to the approval.

The Petronas-led $36-billion liquefied natural gas project on Lelu Island near Prince Rupert would ship 19 million tonnes a year of liquefied gas to markets in Asia.

The project, which includes an export terminal and pipeline, is also expected to produce more than five million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

A draft assessment from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency earlier this year found that the project would likely cause significant adverse environmental effects.

The project has drawn criticism both for the carbon emissions it would cause and for the possible impact that the export terminal would have on the wild salmon habitat in the Skeena River estuary.

Karen Mahon with Stand.Earth says if built, this project will be the largest source of carbon emissions in Canada.

“How can we be building new infrastructure that hasn’t even come on-line yet, that will be emitting huge amounts of CO2 and claim to be a climate leader? It just doesn’t make any sense,” she says.

Mahon is expecting massive protests from First Nations, salmon fisherman and local communities.

“This decision takes us in exactly the wrong direction and is in complete contradiction to everything we’ve been promised by Prime Minister Trudeau.” she adds.

BC’s business community is applauding the decision.

“This will be the largest private-sector development in our country’s history, and today’s decision is monumental step towards securing not only the future of B.C., but could also mean a much-needed boost for the

Canadian economy,” said Val Litwin, president and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. “We applaud the federal government for making the right decision for our province and our country today.”

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