The issues of bias and public trust about LNG were at the centre of a debate at the committee of the whole meeting Tuesday morning.
The district’s Rod MacLeod presented a draft request for proposals for a Woodfibre LNG Socio-Economic Impact Study to council. The study is to determine the impact of the three separate but related projects, should Woodfibre LNG go ahead: the FortisBC pipeline, the necessary hydro upgrade and the liquefied natural gas export facility itself.
Among other things, the study would determine the impact on Squamish infrastructure such as heath-care facilities, education and traffic due to the influx of construction workers expected to temporarily set up during construction.
The chosen consultants would also determine the project’s impact on tourism and Squamish businesses.
According to the draft, Woodfibre LNG was slated to fund the study, to the tune of about $30,000, with the district choosing, managing and directing the consultants.
Therein lay the point of contention. Woodfibre LNG officials refuse to support or pay for a study unless they have some say on the consultant and terms of reference.
“That is why we don’t support it moving forward as it stands now,” said Jennifer Siddon, communications manager at Woodfibre LNG. “We can’t participate in it and we can’t fund it. So we are asking to take a step back and get back to work with District of Squamish staff… and make sure we can make it a positive experience for everyone.”
On Dec. 8, council passed a motion to direct staff to work with Woodfibre on the terms of reference for the study, she noted.
Siddon said with the provincial environmental assessment (EA) certificate’s 25 conditions and 119 mitigation measures, Woodfibre LNG is expected to do much research that can be addressed by a collaboratively agreed-upon study. She added the company only works with the most professional of consultants.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman said the problem is the community won’t trust a study if they think it has had too much input into it from the proponent.
“This question is fundamental to whether or not this is going to be a valuable process,” Heintzman said. “If they thought it was biased against the project, it would equally undermine the process of doing an unbiased proposal.”
Councillor Doug Race said that the consultants hired to do the study would be professionals and expected to be unbiased. “If there is any bias in this whole thing, for heaven’s sake it is at this table, that is where the bias it is, let’s get it away from this table.”
Councillor Karen Elliott questioned the need for the district to have a study at all at this point in the process.
“The other option is to not do this and let them finish their work,” she said of Woodfibre LNG’s research. “We wanted this done before the EA was agreed to and signed. They got their EA certificate from the province. Now we are waiting for a federal approval, so if Woodfibre has some work to do to answer some more questions from the regulator, that is our other option.”
District staff and representatives from Woodfibre will meet again and consider all options for the study and come back to a future council.
Should the study go ahead, it is expected to be complete early this summer, according to the draft.
