The LNG export industry can provide jobs for the people of northern B.C. and get revenue flowing to provincial and federal governments.HO/The Canadian Press
In about a week, the giant GasLog Glasgow liquefied natural gas tanker will dock at the Incheon LNG Terminal off the coast of South Korea’s capital, Seoul.
There won’t be any fireworks (a rather bad idea in any case at an LNG facility). But the arrival of the Bermuda-flagged tanker in the Asian port after sailing from northern British Columbia will mark a moment – a big moment – for Canada.
After a dozen years and tens of billions of dollars, this country finally has an LNG export industry, with the debut sailing from the LNG Canada terminal in Kitimat, B.C. in late June.
There will be jobs for the people of northern B.C., including the Haisla First Nation, and revenue flowing to the provincial and federal governments.
Once the first phase is complete, about 170 tankers will sail from Kitimat each year. Every one of those shipments represents a step away from economic dependence on the United States – the dangers of which have become manifestly obvious since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
LNG Canada starts exports to Asia and explores pathways to expansion
Already, there are discussions under way on expanding the terminal, a path that could eventually double output to 28 million tonnes of LNG a year.
The startup of LNG Canada is both a road map and a cautionary tale for other megaprojects being eyed by private industry, Ottawa, the provinces and Indigenous groups.
One of the biggest lessons from the success of LNG Canada is the importance of meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities. The project meant jobs for the Haisla, both during construction and on an ongoing basis. HaiSea Marine, a joint venture between the Haisla and Seaspan, was awarded a $500-million contract for tugboat services. Crystal Smith, chief councillor of the Haisla for nine years, said the project is ”a testament to what can happen when industry elevates and respects the role of Indigenous communities.”
Just so. As we have previously said, the Carney government is right to seek the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous communities as a goal. The ideal outcome is that of the Haisla: enthusiastic participation in the economic upside of megaprojects, as workers and as entrepreneurs.
The Haisla are embracing that future. The First Nation owns 50.1 per cent of Cedar LNG (Pembina Pipeline Corp. owns the remainder), a smaller scale project that is under construction and aims to begin operations in 2028.
But as we have also argued, the need to consult and accommodate Indigenous groups cannot morph into a veto on development. That, too, is a lesson from the Kitimat project.
Coastal GasLink, which operates the pipeline feeding LNG Canada, faced ongoing protests by environmental activists and supporters of many Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs, who had disavowed the endorsement of the project by elected Wet’suwet’en officials.
In 2019, Coastal GasLink obtained an injunction from the B.C. Supreme Court that barred blockades or other interference with construction activities. Charges were laid after protesters ignored that injunction. The confrontation was unfortunate, but it underscored an important principle, that the rule of law cannot be set aside.
The LNG Canada project, and its associated infrastructure, did not lack for challenges, some of them substantial. But those challenges were overcome, over many years. And that is the biggest lesson to take from the successful debut of LNG Canada: big things can still be accomplished in this country.
There are signs elsewhere of such ambition, starting with Cedar LNG, right in Kitimat. In Quebec, there are early moves to propose a project to ship LNG to Europe, even as Premier François Legault expresses a new openness to pipelines.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has gone even further, signing a memorandum of understanding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to work together on new pipelines. And Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that it is “highly, highly likely” that an oil pipeline will be one of the major industrial projects that Ottawa chooses to fast track.
It is a sea change from three years ago, when then prime minister Justin Trudeau sought to deflate talk of LNG exports from the East Coast, saying that Canada should just ship gas south to the United States.
That lack of vision has been too typical in Canada. But today, as the country grapples with both economic crisis and opportunity, there is a new sense of ambition – call it the spirit of Kitimat.