The Nisga’a Lisims government building in the village of Gitlaxt’aamiks in northwestern B.C. in 2023. The Nisga’a Nation, Western LNG and a group called Rockies LNG are partners in the Ksi Lisims LNG venture.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
Canada Infrastructure Bank has retained a consultant who specializes in liquefied natural gas as it reviews the possibility of financing for the planned Ksi Lisims LNG project in British Columbia.
David Keane, a former president at Woodfibre LNG, said his appointment as an adviser to the federal Crown corporation is meant to help advance LNG projects in Canada.
“Projects such as Ksi Lisims LNG exemplify what is possible when strong Indigenous leadership, clear vision and disciplined execution come together,” he said in a recent post on LinkedIn.
The Nisga’a Nation, Houston-based Western LNG and a group of natural gas producers called Rockies LNG are partners in the Ksi Lisims venture in northwest B.C.
The B.C. and federal governments both conditionally approved Ksi Lisims last September. The backers of Ksi Lisims are expected to make a final investment decision by the end of 2026 on whether to forge ahead with the development.
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Canada Infrastructure Bank, or CIB, said in a recent statement that it “may consider financing participation in projects of national significance where they align with our legislated mandate and investment criteria,” but “there is no decision or commitment related to” Ksi Lisims at this time.
“I look forward to working with CIB and industry partners to help move critical projects forward – responsibly, efficiently, and in a way that creates long-term value for all stakeholders," said Mr. Keane, who is based in Texas.
In an e-mail on Tuesday, he said he does not have anything further to add at this moment.
Critics say climate and health impacts are being ignored, and they are urging governments to suspend LNG development on the West Coast and fracking for natural gas in northeast B.C.
Richard Brooks, climate finance director at Stand.earth, said CIB’s investments include funding clean energy projects, but its recently expanded mandate opens the door to possible financing to help develop fossil fuels such as LNG. “It is unethical that the mandate of the CIB is being twisted to potentially finance” Ksi Lisims, he said in an e-mail.
Mr. Brooks said the prospect of CIB helping to lend money to Ksi Lisims would be a disservice to the financial institution’s “excellent and beneficial track record to date.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last November that Ksi Lisims made the list of significant projects of national interest to be considered for fast-tracking by the federal government’s Major Projects Office.
How can Canada create big nation-building resource projects? Ask our reporters
Shell PLC-led LNG Canada, this country’s first LNG export terminal, started shipping last June to Asia from Kitimat, B.C.
LNG Canada’s Phase 2 expansion plan is also on Ottawa’s fast-tracking list.
Two smaller facilities in B.C. that are also planning to deliver to Asia – Woodfibre LNG near Squamish and Haisla Nation-led Cedar LNG in Kitimat – are under construction.
Nisga’a leaders have touted Ksi Lisims and the associated Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline project as prime examples of economic reconciliation. But Ksi Lisims and the planned pipeline have become entangled in thorny issues marked by rising tensions and complications with nearby Indigenous groups opposing LNG.
Two floating production platforms are slated to be opened off Pearse Island in Nisga’a territory by late 2029, with exports of LNG to Asia. The LNG facilities would be located near Gitlaxt’aamiks, B.C., which is home to the Nisga’a Lisims government led by elected president Eva Clayton.
Environmental law charity Ecojustice said on Tuesday that it sent a letter earlier this month to Mr. Carney to warn that constitutional challenges under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms could be launched, if subsidies are provided to fossil fuel projects.
The letter was copied to others such as CIB, Export Development Canada and the Major Projects Office.
Ecojustice is representing My Sea to Sky, a citizens’ group based in the District of Squamish.
How can Canada create big nation-building resource projects? Ask our reporters
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