The District of Squamish has time to add a liquefied natural gas (LNG) referendum to the November municipal ballot, officials say.
As the debate over the proposed LNG export facility at the former Woodfibre pulp mill site heats up, Coun. Patricia Heintzman suggested the municipality put the question to the people. She asked whether it was still possible last week at a council meeting after members of the anti-LNG organization My Sea to Sky asked that Squamish residents have more say regarding the fate of the proposal.
At the time, district staff weren’t sure whether the municipality had missed a deadline for adding referendum questions to the municipal ballot. Upon further investigation they concluded that there’s still time to do that if council so chooses.
“It is not too late to hold a referendum during the upcoming election,” district spokesperson Christina Moore said.
“And council can establish a non-binding question by resolution or by bylaw.”
Municipalities can conduct referendums at any time, but it makes more economic sense to pair them with an election, Heintzman said, noting the district forks out approximately $30,000 to $40,000 for the election. The question would have to be submitted by Sept. 30 to make the election-date deadline.
Crafting a well-worded LNG question would be key to the referendum’s success, she added. If officials decide to go ahead with such a plan, it would be critical to ensure that there is enough factual information being circulated within the community to allow people to make educated decisions, Heintzman said.
“It can be quite divisive within a community,” she said regarding the drawbacks to staging a referendum.
Coun. Bryan Raiser said he supports the idea. The referendums is a tool that isn’t used enough, he said.
“Since we are spending money on the election, the extra cost is negligible.”
Like Heintzman, Raiser said the wording is fundamentally important. He also questioned whether the community would have enough information regarding the project to vote on it by November.
Coun. Ron Sander said he’s not sure how useful such a referendum would be. The project’s environmental assessment process will just be wrapping up, he noted. If that information was ready in time for the referendum, it might hold more meaning, Sander said. Woodfibre is an industrial site and therefore won’t require rezoning. This leaves the district with little jurisdiction over the project, he noted.
Calling for a referendum is an easy political move, but unless it’s backed up with the proper information and the district has power over its future, the referendum would hold little weight, Sander said.
Mayor Rob Kirkham was on vacation at press time and could not be reached. Council has not formally brought an LNG referendum question to the District of Squamish’s table.
