Lək̓ʔəŋən [LEKWUNGEN] TERRITORY / VICTORIA, B.C. — “I’m deeply disappointed to see LNG Canada Phase 2 move ahead with the Final Investment Decision—and to see both the BC NDP, Conservatives all applaud this move, while committing to further expansion of oil and gas throughout our province.
LNG Canada is an entirely foreign-owned project. It is owned by Shell, one of the most profitable companies in history, several foreign state-owned oil companies, and US private equity. LNG Canada’s owners also own the fracking operations in the Peace that feed the project. The profits from LNG development flow directly to shareholders and governments abroad, while the costs stay here. Families in Kitimat and Terrace are already living with the health effects: dirtier air, rising asthma rates, and rogue flares lighting up the sky. And for all the public money and all the risk, Phase 2 will create a maximum of 150 permanent jobs.
These are nation-draining projects, and the BC Greens oppose taxpayer handouts to foreign investors. Every public dollar we pour into them digs us a deeper hole. That money should be building Canadian-owned industries that move our economy up the value chain.
British Columbians deserve a better future than endless wildfire-filled summers, and projects that never pay off. The BC Greens will put that money to work here instead—building out renewable energy, backed by good union jobs that don’t disappear the moment a foreign shareholder changes their mind. Power that’s owned by our communities, not leased from a pipeline. Energy that brings our bills down instead of tying them to a roller coaster gas price.
On the eve of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, my heart goes out to all the Indigenous nations that have opposed this project, were never consulted, and have been standing up to protect their lands. Reconciliation cannot be a slogan we wear one day a year while governments push through projects over the objections of the people whose lands they cross. It has to mean respecting the right to say no.
This election, British Columbians can choose a government still betting on the last fifty years—or one building the next fifty. It’s time to believe in better.”
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