Lax Kw’alaams Band voted in favour of continuing to pursue LNG development and discussions with the province of British Columbia and the industry.
In a community poll, 65.5 percent of 812 members of the Lax Kw’alaams Band expressed their support to continue discussions under the condition that the environment is protected, a statement by the province shows.
The decision follows a number of meetings held by the First Nations council where band members reviewed the Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal, the opportunities associated with LNG development, and plans for environmental protection and monitoring.
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, currently reviewing the project, is expected to reach a decision in the near future. A conditional FID has been reached by the Petronas-led Pacific NorthWest LNG project in June last year.
The project participants intend to review all elements of the facility once the federal government authorizes the project.
Following the vote, John Helin , mayor, Lax Kw’alaams Band said, “We will have meetings with the appropriate parties – Petronas, the Province, and the federal government – to see what the next steps are for this proposed project.”
He added that the environment is a major component and the Lax Kw’alaams Band has not changed its position.
Pacific NorthWest LNG is planning to build an $11 billion LNG export facility on Lelu Island in the District of Port Edward, British Columbia.
The proposed facility will comprise an initial development of two LNG trains of approximately 6 million tonnes per annum each, and a subsequent development of a third train of approximately 6 mtpa.
Petronas, Sinopec, JAPEX, Indian Oil Corporation and PetroleumBRUNEI are all shareholders in Pacific NorthWest LNG and the associated natural gas supply.