It’ll be July 11 soon. If you are even a little passionate about the active liquefied natural gas discussion currently underway in Squamish, the date will be of interest to you.
It’s the day in 1960 that Harper Lee first published the book To Kill a Mockingbird in the United States. Also, hockey star Al McInness was born that day in 1963. The famous Pulitzer-prize winning novel praises the benefits of tolerance. The equally famous Stanley Cup winner had what most people described at the time as the hardest slapshot in the National Hockey League during his 23-year career in the league.
Lee and McIness are interesting, but July 11 is important to us for a much different reason.
The Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) said it would stop taking comments concerning the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant at Woodfibre on July 11, but because some additional documents were being prepared, the EAO put us on notice that the date would be extended.
There are important things to know about the process around the LNG plant proposal. First, we’re in a pre-submission process. The people who keep telling us the LNG export facility proposed for the old pulp mill site on Howe Sound is a done deal are simply incorrect. Yes, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative colleagues are big supporters of energy exports. Premier Christy Clark is doing everything she can to get an export facility built as soon as possible so she can fulfill her promise to inject massive amounts of new wealth into the provincial economy.
But, simply put, there’s a whole lot of process that has to take place before the feds and the province get to put their rubber stamp on this project.
We’ve heard little from the true believers who want this plant and the jobs it will bring. We’ve heard more from those staunchly opposed because of the long list of concerns that ranges from safety to environmental impacts and impacts on the tourism sector.
This comment period won’t be the last on this proposal. Once Woodfibre LNG submits its project application to the EAO there will be an opportunity to comment on that key document.
Those who are dedicated to being part of the EAO process have probably already submitted comments, or are currently wrapped up in research ahead of making a submission. Good news for this group, as the EAO has extended the deadline to July 27 to give everyone time to review documents recently released by the EAO.
The forces opposed are doing a good job of making their case. The same can’t be said on the other side, as there’s no tangible group, other than Woodfibre LNG, championing the project.
The only way those opposed are going to have an impact is if huge numbers of people rally behind the effort. Supporters of industry had better watch this, because if what looks like an easy win evolves into the highest levels of government rejecting the proposal, a bunch of people are going to be shaking their heads wondering how things went so horribly wrong.
