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BC Liberals push for second LNG Plant

Greens slam expanding gas extraction, fracking
Andrew Wilkinson
BC Liberal Party Leader Andrew WIlkinson

Pursuing a second liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant for the province makes sense, BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson said.

“LNG is a generational opportunity for B.C., and here in Skeena it became a reality because of a BC Liberal vision,” Wilkinson said as he addressed supporters in Terrace.

His words echoed those of former premier Christy Clark as she touted the industry a decade ago.

“The NDP begrudgingly supported one LNG plant after we got it done,” Wilkinson said. “I’m up here today to say that a BC Liberal government will work with all of you to pursue a second LNG plant and create even more jobs and prosperity.”

That single plant is the LNG Canada project in Kitimat.

The NDP government’s 2018 CleanBC plan said one condition for B.C. LNG development is that it fits within provincial climate commitments.

“While LNG Canada is working to make its Kitimat facility the world’s cleanest in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity, the project could add up to 3.45 megatonnes of carbon emissions to the province’s total,” the plan said.

B.C.’s Green Leader Sonia Furstenau slammed Wilkinson’s idea, saying LNG expansion would mean expansion of hydraulic fracturing.

“Neither the B.C. NDP nor the B.C. Liberals appear to understand that we are in a climate emergency,” Furstenau said.

She said the International Energy Agency Oct. 13 forecast that renewables will lead future energy demand.

“The BC NDP and BC Liberals seem intent on keeping us in the past by continuing to give billions in taxpayer subsidies to the fossil fuel industry,” Furstenau said. “This is not how we will create a stable modern economy and long-term job security for British Columbians.”

Wilkinson also committed to building a replacement for Terrace’s Mills Memorial Hospital, a promise Horgan and the NDP have repeatedly made but never delivered.

In January 2018, NDP Health Minister Adrian Dix announced $370 million in funding to replace Mills Memorial.

A business plan was completed in May 2019. Then, it was announced the project would cost $447.5 million to be shared between the provincial government through Northern Health and the North West Regional Hospital District with a contribution of $110.2 million.

The end of the business planning finalizes details such as scope, budget and procurement models. That is followed by procurement itself, followed by construction.

jhainsworth@glaciermedia.ca

@jhainswo