With the District of Squamish’s granting of the temporary use permits for Woodfibre LNG’s two worker accommodation floatels, perhaps we can move forward, not united, but less divided.
Since the topic of the LNG export facility at the old Woodfibre mill site entered Squamish’s consciousness about 12 years ago, there has been a divide that has grown more and more heated as the years went on.
The project itself divided us, but so too did the reaction to it, with some of those opposed and some of those in support drawing lines in the sand that they could never seem to move.
Politicians have used the issue to curry favour, get elected, to grandstand or to try to bring unity.
The truth of the matter is locals—and local government—never had much say over the plant coming or not.
It was a provincial, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and federal decision.
We were merely the venue for it.
The environmental movement made the project better in some ways we should acknowledge and be grateful for, and stoked the fire, perhaps unintentionally, that turned many against skilled and hard-working trades workers.
The company’s leadership and staff made things better for many, too, in ways that haven’t been significantly noted, and they endured abuse that wasn’t deserved.
But there were also tone-deaf company missteps along the way that are regrettable.
With the passing of the TUPs and the completion of the project in sight, we need to heal, debrief and hopefully, learn from the legacy of this last decade.
We have all learned a lot, for good or ill.
There were opportunities taken, but many were missed.
It is unfortunate that more wasn’t made about the Nation’s environmental assessment process being the first legally-binding. Instead, the Nation’s involvement was tokenized by some and dismissed by others.
Thinking that the project could be stopped meant councils missed the chance to extract more good from the project.
That is a loss.
But it is the new dawn of a new day.
The project is a reality.
Folks who opposed it from the start aren’t going to change their stance, and those who supported it fiercely likely won’t understand the fear of those who fought it. But we can all agree to disagree. Like any family, there is so much more to our relationships than this one project. Ideally, the next decade will focus more on finding that common ground.
