I cannot adequately express my anger and disappointment upon learning that Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna has given the green light for the proposed Woodfibre LNG project.
In the lead-up to the election, Justin Trudeau promised: “We will make environmental assessments credible again.” We have not experienced a credible environmental assessment process for the Woodfibre LNG project. Instead, you relied on the weak federal EA process that was gutted after the previous Harper government passed omnibus bill C38.
In your approval statement, you stated that “The federal government also carried out additional consultations with the public and Indigenous groups.” How? By giving us less than a week’s notice that we have yet another public comment period to go through with 21 days to review a highly questionable document compiled by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) on upstream greenhouse gas emissions? And then giving the project your official okie dokie while you were on vacation, before staff at the CEAA could even upload all 1,300 comments to the website, let alone read them or validate the scientific concerns we have raised about the CEAA’s dodgy greenhouse gas assessment? This is not meaningful public consultation.
You also state, “The Woodfibre LNG project underwent a thorough, science-based environmental assessment that considered public and Indigenous input and views.” I counter that the provincial environmental assessment process has been a complete sham. This stems from the fact that the provincial ministers responsible for issuing the B.C. Environmental Assessment Certificate have a conflict of interest as the B.C. Liberals have a mandate to develop LNG export facilities. This seriously undermines the integrity of the process.
And why the big rush? We were told by MP Jonathan Wilkinson that you had no deadline to make a decision on the Woodfibre LNG project. Meanwhile, you’ve granted a three-month extension on the Pacific Northwest LNG project proposed for Prince Rupert. Why hasn’t Woodfibre LNG been granted the same amount of time to allow you to better engage with the communities around Howe Sound and fully understand the impacts of this project? Your rushed decision is at best uneducated and at worst grossly negligent.
As Justin Trudeau said, “while governments grant permits for resource development, only communities can grant permission.” Right now, the communities around Howe Sound are outraged. We will do whatever it takes to stop Woodfibre LNG.
Tracey Saxby
Co-founder of My Sea to Sky
Squamish
