JUNE 2014 BCBusiness 47 bcbUsiNEss.cA
the tax is passed into law, the major
players—LNG
Canada (part-owned by
Shell) and Kitimat
LNG (part-owned by
Chevron)—will go back to their board
to either proceed or not proceed with
full-on development. "They've walked
away before from places."
Monaghan and her council also,
controversially, held a non-binding
plebiscite on Enbridge's Northern Gate-
way project on April 12. Most north-
ern communities along the proposed
pipeline route, including Terrace, have
come out against the project, but Kiti-
mat decided to stay neutral and survey
its citizens instead. Residents ulti-
mately rejected the project by a vote of
58 per cent to 42 per cent.
Many opponents, including the
neighbouring Haisla First Nation,
feel the Kitimat plebiscite—especially
its timing—has given Enbridge free
publicity in the runup to the federal
government's fi nal decision on North-
ern Gateway, expected this month. "I
don't know what they're trying to do,
if they're trying to form a mandate,
but if they're trying to possibly give
momentum to Enbridge, you're basi-
cally insulting everything the Haisla
have done since 2009," says Ellis
Ross, the 49-year-old Chief Council-
lor for the 1,800-member band, which
is challenging the project in court. "I
don't appreciate that at all."
The Haisla, while opposed to North-
ern Gateway, have otherwise found
common cause with Kitimat. They've
partnered with Alcan in bringing the
cruise-ship-cum-working-housing to
town, acting as operators with Bridge-
man Services of the Delta Spirit Lodge.
The Haisla are also 50 per cent own-
ers in one of the smaller
LNG projects,
BCLNG, and landlords and rent collec-
tors on the Kitimat
LNG project.
Still, Ross—who's seen unemploy-
ment on the reserve drop from 60
per cent to almost zero—has concerns
about what the future holds for
LNG
and his community.
"It's a great situation to be in, but
how long is it going to last? I need to
see somebody talk about fi nal invest-
ment decisions. They're doing all the
permitting work, and hiring some of
our people. We're seeing progress, but
some of these major corporations are
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