While Woodfibre LNG’s (WLNG) public hearings have been known to be heated, the company’s recent public information session on a possible second floating workers’ accommodation was comparatively uneventful.
Members of the public were invited to meet with the WLNG staff at the Executive Suites Hotel & Resort on July 2, to discuss their Temporary Use Permit (TUP) application for its first floatel and a potential second floatel too.
Currently, the repurposed cruise ship MV Isabelle X is moored at the site, located seven kilometres from downtown Squamish. The second floatel would be placed next to the current vessel.
The Squamish Chief attended the event which ran from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., amongst 16 local residents and three councillors; Jenna Stoner, Eric Andersen and Chris Pettingill.
WLNG spokesperson Sean Beardow told The Squamish Chief the purpose of the event was to provide the public with more information about both floatels.
“We're here today to talk a little bit about the floatel, why there's a need for a second, talk a little bit about the success of the first, and also taking the opportunity to kind of talk a little bit about what's new with the project,” Beardow said.
“We really wanted to make sure that we can explain why we're doing it and give people a sense of what that second floatel would look like on site and what it would look like in general.
“Really showing [people] that the second floatel would really mirror the first, both in programming and amenities and rough size.”
He also said that while the second floatel would allow for the WLNG project to be completed faster, it would also offer more jobs for Canadian workers.
“It kind of comes down to simple math. If we can have more workers on site, working parallel on different levels of construction, we're going to be able to finish the project as quickly as we can. And finishing the project as quickly as we can, I think takes a bit of advantage of where we are geopolitically,” he said.
“We're in an interesting place right now, and there's a certain galvanization for Canadian energy, and with the state of everything [happening in the U.S.], this is also an opportunity for a lot of Canadian jobs.”
Beardow confirmed that it would only be WLNG workers using the second floatel and that no FortisBC workers would reside there.
On May 1, WLNG announced they were seeking to place a second floating workers’ accommodation at its site which would accommodate 900 more tradespeople.
(The ship has the capacity for 650 workers, but would create up to 900 jobs because of the shift work aspect of the construction workforce.)
In 2024, Squamish council voted to reject a one-year temporary use permit for the first floatel.
However, after an BC Environmental Assessment Office order was issued on June 17, 2024, which required the company to address its worker housing issues, WLNG moved the ship into place.
It later reapplied for a permit with the District.
The municipality is still considering a TUP application from WLNG for the existing temporary floating workforce accommodation and to authorize an additional temporary floatel.
Beardow said that WLNG has not yet obtained the second cruise ship yet, but anticipates it should be ready to go in time for the regulatory approval.
For more information on the WLNG project, visit their website.
*This story was updated after it was posted to clarify that the second floatel will have the capacity to house 650 workers, but due to the nature of shift work, would allow for 900 trades jobs.
