A new report has found that First Nations in British Columbia support the establishment of a liquefied natural gas sector, further discrediting the green movement’s narrative that Canada\u2019s Indigenous communities are opposed to fossil fuel projects.<\/p>\n
According to a joint report co-authored the B.C. government and the First Nations LNG Alliance, the nascent sector enjoys such high Indigenous support many are in fact upset many projects haven\u2019t been built.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been many positive impacts to First Nations communities related to LNG development, prior to any construction,\u201d according to the report, made public Monday. \u201cMuch capacity has been created due to these projects. However, expectations have also been raised. Now, First Nations leaders are trying to deal with their constituents\u2019 frustration because of the delays or cancellation of these projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
The findings are based on a series of engagement sessions held last fall with Indigenous communities in the province to gather their perspectives and suggestions.<\/p>\n
If LNG projects are done in ways that respect First Nations\u2019 interests, they believe \u201cthey will be the most safe, environmentally rigorous, and human-rights compliant projects in the world,\u201d according to the 16-page report.<\/p>\n
The B.C. government should partner with First Nations and Indigenous organizations to improve communication, information sharing, and ongoing engagement on the LNG industry, the report suggests.<\/p>\n
It also proposes that the B.C. government do more to improve investor confidence in the province. B.C. was recently ranked as the worst province in Canada for oil and gas investment, according to the Fraser Institute’s 2017 Global Petroleum Survey.<\/p>\n
Karen Ogen-Toews, president of the First Nations LNG Alliance, which has representatives of six First Nations on its board, said many Indigenous communities view LNG as an opportunity to improve poor socio-economic conditions because it offers jobs and training. During the sessions, Indigenous participants raised concerns about poverty and the need for employment.<\/p>\n
Last week the province\u2019s minority NDP government introduced new conditions and tax incentives for LNG projects to attract investment, moderating its previous dislike of the industry and despite needing the support of the anti-LNG Green Party to stay in power.<\/p>\n
The new conditions will first benefit the $40-billion LNG Canada project, the first in line to make a final investment decision after many were put on hold due to low energy prices, weak demand in Asia, regulatory delays and activism. Few LNG projects are now still actively pursuing development, the report says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we really need is for communication and dialogue to continue and to be strengthened,\u201d Ogen-Toews said. \u201cToo many people have been told that First Nations oppose LNG development. That\u2019s not true. Others believe that LNG development is automatically a negative. That\u2019s not true either.\u201d<\/p>\n
That narrative has been fueled by environmental organizations that regard LNG as an impediment to Canada\u2019s greenhouse gas reduction goals and as propagators of fossil fuel dependency.<\/p>\n
The Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation, for example, panned the province\u2019s new LNG framework last week for encouraging fracking and carbon pollution, and \u201ctying the province\u2019s future to the shrinking global market for fossil fuels.\u201d<\/p>\n
First Nations are increasingly distancing themselves from the green lobby. While it celebrates and raises funds off the failure of projects in Canada, they are left behind with few prospects to build their economies and meanwhile competing jurisdictions supply rising global LNG demand. <\/p>\n
Financial Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Indigenous communities are upset that many LNG projects haven’t been built, according to a joint report co-authored the B.C. government and the First Nations LNG Alliance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/578"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2176"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2180,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176\/revisions\/2180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}