Canfor’s pulp operations in central BC including Northwood Pulp in Prince George, as well as West Fraser Mills’ Cariboo Pulp and Paper facil-ity in Quesnel, are collectively receiving more than $2 million from the CleanBC Industry Fund.
Canfor Pulp Inc. is receiving $1.268 million for three projects:
• $838,000 to “replace a system that recovers wet lime dust with a new dry dust system in order to lower the moisture content of material entering the lime kiln and to reduce combustion of natural gas in the lime kiln” at Northwood Pulp in Prince George
• $373,620 to study technology that would produce renewable dimethyl ether from residual forest wood waste
• $53,610 to study energy savings and emissions reductions through optimizing brownstock washing operations
West Fraser Mills Ltd. is receiving $851,144 for four feasibility studies at Cariboo Pulp and Paper in Quesnel:
• $266,370 to study upgrades to the facility’s tall oil plant including replacing natural gas as a fuel source
• $186,906 to investigate the viability of modifying or replacing the biomass boiler generating bank by improving erosion
Canfor, West Fraser receiving CleanBC industry funds
Energy minister says climate change means global markets are demanding cleaner, lower carbon products
• $155,475 to investigate the improvements of steam plant operations through advanced automation
• $72,679 to study an optimization strategy for the facility’s evaporators to improve efficiency and reduce emissions
The company is also getting $169,714 to study improvements to biomass boiler combustion efficiency at its Quesnel Plywood facility.
Speaking to reporters from Vancouver, Energy Minister Adrian Dix said that as parts of the world experience the impact of climate change, global markets are demanding cleaner, lower carbon products.
The total $35 million from the CleanBC Industry Fund, he said, supports improvements that would otherwise be too risky or costly for compa-nies to afford by themselves.
“Now is the time in the face of tariffs from the United States when we need to become more self-sufficient in energy and drive a cleaner, stronger, more self-sufficient economy here in BC and the Clean Industry Fund does just that,” Dix said.
The previous weekend, BC Hydro announced that the Site C Dam was fully operational after the sixth and final generating unit went online.
Responding to a question from The Citi-
NORTHWOOD PULP PHOTO
Northwood Pulp in Prince George is receiving $838,000 from the CleanBC Industry Fund to improve emissions performance, the provincial government announced on Tuesday, Aug. 12.
zen, Dix said that the province is looking at a full array of projects in its next calls for power projects.
“In addition to the second call for power that … the premier announced in May, we had a call for expressions of interest for what’s called firm power,” Dix said.
“That would include other hydro, geothermal, the potential of carbon capture and natural gas, that would include other things, other options. What we want to see in BC is to build out, because we need not just intermittent power, which is sometimes what wind energy provides, we need firm power as well.”
The province’s first call for power from late 2024 led to approval for a wind project co-owned by Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and Spanish firm Ecoener planned for construction in the Hixon area.
Back in late February, Dix announced regulatory changes that increased the requirement for made-in-BC renewable diesel content in diesel sold in the province.
This move was aimed at helping facilities like the Tidewater Renewables diesel refinery in Prince George, which company CEO Jeremy Baines warned was at risk of closure as it was unable to compete with American producers which received subsidies both in the U.S. and Canada.
“We’re constantly reviewing those changes, working with companies such
as Tidewater to see that we act in the public interest,” Dix said on Aug. 12 when asked if he was considering any further adjustments.
“Those projects see a significant reduction, of course, in emissions in BC and Tidewater is an important company here. So, we are reviewing as we said we would with them to make sure that we have on the renewable diesel side the right balance there.”
On Aug. 11, BC Attorney General Niki Sharma announced the province would appeal a recent BC Supreme Court Decision awarding four First Nations the title to land owned by various parties, including all three levels of government, along the Fraser River in Richmond.
Asked whether the court’s decision could affect future investment in BC energy projects, Dix pointed to his government’s calls for power that have required First Nations’ involvement as well as First Nations involvements in liquified natural gas projects that have recently started sending out shipments.
Other recipients of the CleanBC Industry Fund money include AltaGas Holdings, ARC Resources, Cenovus En-ergy, NorthRiver Midstream, Ovintiv Canada, Pacific Canbriam and Tourmaline Oil Corp. projects in northeast BC.
Colin Slark Citizen Staff
The College of New Caledonia (CNC) has secured more than $170,000 in federal funding to establish a remote sensing lab aimed at improving forest stewardship and management across northern British Columbia.
The $170,775 grant was awarded through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Applied Research Tools and Instruments (ARTI) program. The funding will sup-
port the purchase of advanced equipment such as terrestrial LiDAR scanners, drones, multispectral sensors, and computer software and hardware.
Remote sensing — the collection of data from a distance, typically using aircraft or satellites — plays a critical role in monitoring forest health, assessing wildfire risk, and managing wildlife habitats. CNC says the new lab will significantly expand its capacity to conduct applied research in these areas.
CNC receives $170K federal grant to launch remote sensing lab for forest research
New funding will allow the College of New Caledonia to establish a remote sensing lab.
Pablo Crespell, a research fellow at CNC, will lead the lab’s development and operations. He said the investment will give students and faculty hands-on access to emerging technologies and analytical tools that are increasingly shaping natural resource management.
“Remote-sensing technologies and software are continuously evolving, and we are committed to keeping up with these developments,” said Crespell. “We anticipate a great deal of student and faculty involvement in a mutually beneficial
learning model.”
Students in CNC’s Natural Resources and Forestry Technology program, along with those in programs focused on surveying and mapping, are expected to benefit from the new lab. CNC also plans to collaborate with partners in industry, First Nations, government and academia.
Carl Pollard, CNC’s director of applied research, said the lab will boost the college’s role as a research and innovation hub for forest management.
Together we can unlock the full potential of our economy by growing our industry and trade sectors - driving
creating jobs, and securing a sustainable future for all.
Citizen Staff
CNC photo
Welcome to the fall edition of Industry and Trade. In the following pages you’ll find some great information about skills training and opportunities in Northern BC
Over the next decade, BC can expect more than 85,000 job openings in the skilled trades.
EMPOWERING OUR WORLD
FROM THE GROUND UP
David Eby
Industry and Trade: A message from Premier
To meet this need, government is working hard to make sure that more people can access skills training and complete their apprenticeships.
We’re helping to build a future workforce by advancing innovation in trades training, investing in Indigenous skills training development, and partnering with colleges and other levels of gov-
ernment to ensure that we have the 21st century training facilities and tools to support students.
An apprenticeship in a skilled trade is an important entry point to a rewarding, good-paying career — and to help answer the growing demand for skilled tradespeople in the North, the College of New Caledonia delivered more than 250 foundation seats and more than 750 apprentice seats in 2024/25.
There’s no question that British Columbia is an incredible place to live and work.
And in a global environment undergoing rapid and fundamental changes, BC has everything that we need to thrive.
We have the abundant energy and natural resources the world needs, including
softwood lumber, natural gas, and critical minerals. We have bountiful clean electricity —including solar and wind. We have strong and productive partnerships with First Nations throughout the province.
And we have the most important resource of all: a province full of skilled, diverse, and hardworking people.
In a changing world, our government is focused on building a sustainable and prosperous future. British Columbia has what it takes to be the economic engine of a more independent Canada — and we’re ready to deliver.
I can’t wait to see what we can build, together.
David Eby Premier of British Columbia
As the daughter of a tradesperson and someone who has benefited from post-secondary education and training, I am especially honoured to serve as the minister responsible for trades training and education in British Columbia.
Our government is dedicated to strengthening British Columbia’s position as the economic engine of Canada. In doing this work, it is without question that it is the people — the heartbeat of British Columbia — who energize that engine and propel our province forward. This is especially true in Northern BC, where workers of all types, including skilled tradespeople and health care professionals, play a crucial role in building infrastructure and providing the services communities need to thrive.
Our commitment as a government is steadfast: we will ensure we have a skilled, resilient workforce ready to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. This includes empowering the talent that exists right now in this province, while supporting the next generation of workers who will build our homes, schools, hospitals, and roads, and those who will fill them to provide essential services we all need and depend on.
Creating an environment that empowers every person and ensures opportunity is abundant and accessible to all is crucial for our collective future. That future depends on the prosperity of workers.
Over the next 10 years, more than 1 mil-
Jessie Sunner
Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills
lion good-paying jobs will be available in this province. My goal is to ensure that British Columbians, especially those in Northern BC, have access to the training they need to seize and make the most of these opportunities.
That’s why our government is investing in affordable, accessible, and relevant post-secondary education and skills training. As an example, our government is funding nearly 28,000 training seats throughout every region of the province and managing close to 90 trades programs. As of this past spring, we are proud to have reached a record high of nearly 50,000 registered apprentices – the most ever in our province.
Our government is also training more health care workers, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and allied health professionals, so everyone in BC can access the care they need, when and where they need it.
In Fort St. John, for example, the Northern Baccalaureate Nursing Program offers the opportunity for people in the Northeast to be trained as registered nurses in just two years. At the same time, nursing programs at the University of Northern British Columbia continue to grow, helping meet the region’s health care needs.
There’s no doubt, we’re facing global economic uncertainties, including unjustified American tariffs, but those uncertainties won’t stop us from investing
in people. I fundamentally believe that when you invest in people, you invest in the economy, because people are the economy. Our government is going to do everything we can to give British Columbians the opportunities to get the skills and training they need to succeed, now and in the future.
I’m optimistic that together, we will
REFUELING
continue to shape BC to be stronger, more resilient, and brighter than ever before and that with the hard work and dedication of our people, we will build a province of enduring hope, growth, and endless possibilities to succeed for all.
Jessie Sunner is BC’s minister of post-secondary education and future skills.
PILOT CAR SIGNS
RACKS & RAILS
TOOL BOXES
College of New Caledonia working to get people working
As a red seal pipefitter, the College of New Caledonia’s associate dean of technology, applied arts and trades has heard some misconceptions about the trades over the years.
“There’s the old stigma of ‘you know you’re not going to get into university, so you might as well to trades,” said Troy Werrell. “But people are actually quite amazed at how much math and science is involved in our trades training.”
The college offers more than 20 tradesrelated programs out of its central Prince George campuses and satellite campuses elsewhere in BC’s central interior.
He’s now in an administrative position, but Werrell has been an instructor at the college for years and has run his own company with the skills he learned through his own training.
In a Thursday, Aug. 14 phone interview with The Citizen, he was adamant that people who go into the trades aren’t settling for anything, but they are setting themselves up for steady employment and useful skills.
“I never had to worry about finding a
job,” he said. “Let’s say if you do get laid off from one firm. You can go across the street and get a job with the next firm … you can live anywhere because your trade is good everywhere.”
Through coursework and apprenticeships, CNC trades students can earn a Red Seal certification which are valid across the country.
It’s not just for trades using heavy machinery, engineering, plumbing or electrics either — students completing the professional cook program can get their Red Seal as well.
Depending on what’s required for each trade, students will split their time between learning the fundamentals in the classroom and getting practical experience in the field with qualified professionals in an apprenticeship.
Training standards for trades in British Columbia are set by SkillsTradesBC, formerly known as the Industry Training Authority. The organization’s website states that of the almost 90 trades it manages, Red Seals can be obtained for 49 of them.
For each trade, the website lists the coursework and apprenticeship
hours required for a student to earn a qualification.
Someone looking to become a Red Seal carpenter can either take a foundation course at an institution like CNC and then become a level two apprentice, or directly enter the field as a level one apprentice and work their way forward.
Sometimes, training in one trade can earn a student credit towards another.
For example, the document outlining the requirements to earn an automotive service technician Red Seal states that those with certificates of qualification as truck and transport mechanics or heavy-duty equipment technicians can get credit for up to 1,590 hours of work-based training for their automotive qualification.
Werrell said apprenticeships aren’t unpaid internships.
“The cool thing is you practice it — you earn while you learn,” he said.
For people who don’t do their best learning sitting at a desk, going into the trades can let a student engage in hands-on lessons. Werrell said they pride themselves on offering their students
real-world experience.
“You can’t get everything from a textbook or a simulator, so a lot of the hands-on work is real work,” he said. “Carpentry, for example, they are always building garages for the public. They’re building benches for BC Parks. They build all kinds of stuff, they go out and they help with new construction whenever possible.”
Heavy-duty students get to work directly on hauling trucks, buses and forklifts. Automotive students get to work on vehicles brought in by members of the public.
Another difference between the trades and other college programs is that they don’t follow the traditional semester systems. There are springe and fall intake periods, but the programs operate yearround.
As part of making sure students are prepared for the job market, Werrell said the college does its best to purchase the technology that they’ll be using in the field as professionals and make sure that instructors keep up with developments in their fields.
In the pipe trades, Werrell estimated
Colin Slark Citizen Staff
CNC photos
“The trades have been very good to me. If somebody has a trades ticket and they’re not working, it tends to be by choice. That’s how I feel. Even now when we’re kind of in an economic crunch, the trades are just going crazy and we can’t put out the students quick enough to be honest with you
that in the last seven years the number of students that found work within six months of graduation from a foundation program was in the high 90 per cents.
To make sure that the college’s offerings align with the local job market, he said that they try to meet with representatives from local industries once or twice a year to see what their needs are.
For people interested in learning a trade, Werrell said studies can begin as early as high school, with Grade 11 or 12 students participating in Career Technical Centre programs that allow them to graduate and go directly into a second-year apprenticeship in their field.
But it’s not always teens coming to learn a trade. Sometimes, there are people who have lost their other employment looking for a new career or those who took an early retirement and are looking for a new challenge who sign up for classes.
A new addition the college is looking to make to its trades offerings is business training.
“That has always been a question that all apprentices ask when they get to level three or four that want to do their own thing when they get their ticket: is there any business training?” Werrell said.
“We are introducing a course that will hopefully ladder (the diploma they earn) into an associate degree for business administration. We’re going to hopefully try to get this going for the spring semester.”
On top of current students, Werrell said he envisions this being available to those who have already earned their credentials.
For those interested in learning a trade, Werrell recommends they talk to their councillor if they’re still in high school. Tours of the college are also available for people wanting to look around the facilities including the John A. Brink Trades & Technology Centre.
Though he doesn’t have as much time for it now since moving from instructor to a dean position earlier this year, Werrell said he ran his own company on the side for years.
“I’m still telling people now I’ve never been without money and that it’s a hundred per cent due to my Red Seal that I have,” Werrell said.
“The trades have been very good to me. If somebody has a trades ticket and they’re not working, it tends to be by choice. That’s how I feel. Even now when we’re kind of in an economic crunch, the trades are just going crazy and we can’t put out the students quick enough to be honest with you.”
At this point, Werrell said he’s starting to see former students of his from eight or so years ago now with their own companies and accepting apprentices from his current classes.
“That’s really great to see that they’re out and making a true success of the trade and basically living the dream I established for them way back when and they’re seen the fruits of that labour.”
Those looking for more information on all of CNC’s available programs and courses can visit cnc.bc.ca/programscourses.
Here’s a list of all the trades programs listed on CNC website as of Aug. 15:
• apprentice carpenter
• apprentice automotive collision and refinishing
• trades discovery
• automotive service technician foundation
• professional cook
• heavy mechanical trades foundation
• apprentice automotive glass technician
• apprentice pipe trade
• apprentice metal fabrication
• apprentice heavy mechanical trades
• power engineering third class
• apprentice industrial mechanic
• automotive collision and refinishing foundation
• apprentice residential building
CNC’s regional offerings
Beyond Prince George, CNC has satellite campuses in Burns Lake, Fort St. James, Mackenzie, Quesnel and Vanderhoof.
Werrell said that the trades programming at the other campuses is targeted to what those communities need.
The college’s online programs and courses site lists these trades programs at the satellite campuses:
• Burns Lake: pipe trade
• Mackenzie: welder foundation
• Quesnel: apprentice carpenter, apprentice industrial mechanic, power engineering fourth class, industrial mechanic foundation, welder foundation, carpenter foundation
• Vanderhoof: Trades discovery and pipe trade
Students at the satellite campuses can sometimes start their studies in their community and come to Prince George for further training.
“They can start, say, a foundation program out in Quesnel or whatnot,” Werrell said.
“Most of our apprenticeship courses are held in the main campus, so they might have to relocate for those few weeks to Prince George to get those. Setting up those apprentice courses are a little bit tricky in the smaller communities,
mainly because we don’t have the right type of faculty out there to teach those levels where here we are geared for that already.”
Periodically, there are also training opportunities for students at the high school level through the trades discovery program. This program will be offered in Vanderhoof in spring 2026, according to the college’s website.
Students (and adults) who have completed their studies through Grade 9 can earn high school credits while learning the basics of four different trades in a 300-hour program.
“That’s particularly good for those students that may not know what they want in the trades, but they know they want to work with their hands or get into construction of some sort,” Werrell said.
“They would come and spend their first semester doing maybe two weeks of this trade and then two weeks of the next trade and two weeks after that and so on and by the end of it, they’re going to know what they like and then they just have to decide which one they would like to pursue.”
Students in communities served by satellite campuses can also take the Career Technical Centre courses that allow them finish high school with both their Grade 12 diploma and their first year of trades training.
This includes students in School District 57 based out of Prince George but also including Mackenzie, Valemount and McBride, School District 28 based out of Vanderhoof and also serving Fort St. James, Burns Lake and Fraser Lake and School District 28 based out of Quesnel.
However, students from outside of School District 57 are responsible for finding their own room and board when travelling to Prince George for CTC programming.
Students participating in CTC programs need a C+ grade average or higher, satisfactory work habits and good attendance records.
On CNC’s website listing programs and courses, visitors can use filters to see what courses are available at all six campuses.
Kopar offers opportunities to job seekers and employers alike
When businesses in Prince George are looking for workers or people in Prince George are looking for work, there’s a strong chance they’ll turn to Kopar Administration.
Established in Prince George in 1997, the company has since expanded its operations to Smithers, Victoria, Hinton, Alta. and Edson, Alta.
Sitting down with The Citizen at Kopar’s offices at 2211 Nicholson St. S., operations manager Ken Newell said they offer four different programs aimed at helping people overcome barriers to employment.
Those include
• Bladerunners Raising Roofs, aimed at helping people aged 16 to 30 launch a career in the construction trades,
• Jump on Board, aimed at provide
one-on-one job coaching for youth aged 15 to 30,
• Skills Quest+, aimed at people with self-disclosed disabilities looking for work and
• Training 4 Jobs, aimed at helping unemployed people learn skills that will help them succeed in the job market.
Jump on Board, Newell said, also helps clients transition into new jobs by helping them buy necessary clothes, tools or equipment as well as connect them with training opportunities.
A wage subsidy is also offered for the first eight weeks of their employment to help entice prospective employers into hiring clients.
For the Skills Quest+ program, up to 12 weeks of wage subsidies are available as well as training opportunities. Because the program focuses on
people with self-disclosed disabilities, it means clients don’t need a formal diagnosis.
Training 4 Jobs is similar to the previous two programs, except that there isn’t an age limit for participants.
The first program, Bladerunners, gets clients working hands-on to learn basic construction skills.
“What we’re trying to do is take a youth and turn them from maybe a general labourer into a skilled labourer,” Newell said. “Maybe they’ll take this training from here and move that into an apprenticeship with (The College of New Caledonia). We’re trying to help a client get into the field and maybe get into a better position than they would have started with.”
The fruits of the labours of Bladerunners participants can be seen in the parking lot of Kopar’s Prince George officers, with a built bunkhouse sitting on the asphalt.
Newell said clients in the program have built sheds for the local Rona location, made dugouts for local fastball associations, a pergola for the botanical gardens up at the University of Northern British Columbia and assorted other projects for community groups and non-profits.
“A lot of times, it’s making sure that they know how to read a tape measure, know the proper, safe use of power tools, that type of thing,” Newell said. “We give them a tool belt, we give them their high-vis vest, they get their hard hats, they get their steeltoed boots and they get an assortment of tools and stuff like that they take with them when they graduate.”
Much of the work Kopar does is figuring out what local employers need in terms of workers and seeing which of their clients would be good fits. They’ve connected clients with the hospitality, retail and construction sectors among others.
Colin Slark Citizen Staff
CITIZEN PHOTO BY COLIN SLARK
Kopar Administration operations manager Ken Newell shows off the company’s wood shop at its Nicholson Ave. location in Prince George on Monday, Aug. 11.
I hope that if you come through us eventually and you do find employment that you will never see us again. That you’ll be able to have the skills and the tools and the knowledge needed to find work on your own in the future. I’m trying to create my own obsolescence.
When Prince George was proposed as the site of a hydrogen plant in recent
years, Newell said the company came to Kopar to see how they might be able to help them find workers.
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, the company is hosting one of its regular job fairs at its offices. During its job fairs, Newell said, employees are temporarily kicked out of their offices and representatives from prospective employers get to use them as venues for five- to 10-minute job interviews with job seekers.
“It’s enough for what I would call an elevator speech, but it does get you a little more one-on-one than you would if it was a job fair at the RollA-Dome or at the Civic Centre where it’s a bunch of tables and there’s a cacophony of noise all around you the whole time,” Newell said.
In the lobby of the Kopar building is a bookcase filled with tomes offering advice on how to build resumes.
Newell said there are two rules for resumes. The first is that everyone must
have one. The second is that nobody wants to read it.
“It’s important that you have your resume, that your resume does a good job of advertising who you are. I look at job searching as a full-time job,” he said. “It’s an advertising sales job. What you’re trying to do is trying to sell your skills and abilities to an employer who may be hiring.”
On top of helping companies look for jobs, Kopar also helps people from organizations who are losing their jobs. When home improvement company Lowe’s left Prince George, Newell said they helped staff transition to new opportunities.
After an explosion at a local mill years ago, not everyone was brought back when the facility reopened and Kopar helped those in need look for new opportunities.
While there can sometimes be a stigma around accepting help and Newell hopes that people can find a
job without their assistance, Kopar is there to help if needed.
“I hope that if you come through us eventually and you do find employment that you will never see us again,” he said. “That you’ll be able to have the skills and the tools and the knowledge needed to find work on your own in the future. I’m trying to create my own obsolescence.”
For people looking for help in finding employment or employers looking for workers, Newell said all they need to do is call the Kopar office at 250-5962517 to get started.
Go to www.koparadmin.ca or scan the code.
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
After 17 years of working with the Valemount Community Forest (VCF), Ainslie Jackman is out as president of the board. Valemount Council, the shareholder of the community forest who represents the interests of Valemount residents, chose not to renew her contract in a closed meeting.
The Goat sat down with Jackman to discuss her time at VCF and her plans for the future.
Jackman joined the board in 2008, just after the community forest officially started. It was a difficult time for the forestry industry overall, with the 2008 recession rocking the entire province and local mills closing left and right — Valemount’s shutdown in 2006. On top of that, the community forest had to contend with an epidemic of mountain pine beetle, which devastated the local tree population.
The community forest’s goal was to increase local employment, Jackman said.
“Every community forest has a different focus … we were desperate, and we needed to create jobs, so that was our focus,” she said. “Our mission statement and guiding principles were written to diversify [the economy].”
Changing of the guard: Former president reflects on her time with the community forest
One highlight was the purchase of a sawmill, creating 10 jobs
Building a community forest from the ground up also meant writing policies for meetings and learning the ins-and-outs of running a community forest — no easy feat for any new board, let alone one still reeling from a local economy that was in freefall. According to Jackman, board meetings in those early years were typically three or four hours long, a far cry from the roughly 90-minute meetings the board holds today.
“They were horrendous. And we had in-camera stuff to deal with too, so it was grueling,” she said, adding that after separating the Valemount Industrial Park from the community forest made meetings more manageable.
One point of pride for Jackman was purchasing a sawmill in 2019, which she said resulted in the creation of 10 jobs. Nobody on the board during the purchase had experience with mills, but they worked together to do the best they could, she said.
“It was exciting and it was fun and we liked each other,” she said of the 2008 board. “Trying to decide what kind of mill [to purchase], we were out of our league, really. We did the best we could with what we knew.”
Other highlights from Jackman’s time on the board include moving Cedar Valley Holdings onto the VCF yard. According
Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter photo
Former Valemount Community Forest president Ainslie Jackman stands in front of her garden, where she plans on spending her free time now that she is not on the board
to Jackman, then-general manager Craig Pryor helped the company grow from three people to 15 people.
One recurring obstacle for the board has been finding qualified people to fill empty positions. Jackman says the ideal board brings people with a wealth of experience in various fields, from finance to logging to trucking. While it hasn’t been easy to build a knowledgeable, diverse board in a town as small as Valemount, Jackman counts herself lucky to have worked closely with a group of dedicated people who cooperated well.
“We were a very caring bunch that started the community forest and really knew that it was our only hope,” she said.
Despite the challenges VCF has tackled, Jackman knows that community forests can quietly support their communities and has enjoyed getting to collaborate with board members who are passionate and knowledgeable. She pointed to the dock at Cranberry Lake as one example: she proposed building a new dock to the board, and everybody agreed to contribute. Even loggers, truckers and road builders who don’t sit on the board pitched in, according to Jackman.
“We got the dock — it was so exciting, it was lovely,” she said. “It was really a community effort.”
Now, Jackman looks forward to having free time without the stress of putting out fires with the VCF board. She said she was offered a job at a woodlot the same day she found out her contract with VCF wouldn’t be renewed, but she chose not to take it.
“I said ‘No, I just need a break,’” Jackman said.
During that break, Jackman plans on gardening, caring for her horses, and spending time with her four grandchildren.
With Jackman gone, local Gerry Piper is the last remaining board member who was around during VCF’s earliest days — the “old guard,” as Jackman said. However, she looks forward to seeing new blood on the board, noting that newly-elected president Dylan Savoie and board member Zac Ruttiman have already brought enthusiasm and valuable insight to the community forest.
“They are great. They are exactly what you want in a succession plan,” Jackman said. “We’re starting to get some new, younger board members. You still need the older people, but it has to be a transition so that you can keep the stability and the knowledge going. And then, one by one, we all jump off.”
This article originally appeared in The Rocky Mountain Goat
Abigail Popple
Abigail Popple Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
After a hectic year of turnover, the Valemount Community Forest’s new general manager, Alana Duncan, is beginning to adjust to her role. She stepped in as general manager in April after the departure of Kalina Velez, who had become general manager in September after Brian Shawara stepped down last summer.
“It’s been stressful, for sure, and challenging, but it’s good,” Duncan said. “I’m starting to work out some stuff that I was less certain about at the beginning, which is nice.”
The 33-year-old has been working for the community forest since 2019, when she started as a silviculture forester. Working as general manager has meant more time indoors at her desk and a steep learning curve, Duncan said, but she’s diving into the role headfirst.
At the VCF’s annual general meeting on July 17, Duncan faced a number of questions from residents. Top of mind for local Andru McCracken was how the community forest will communicate with people who use logging roads to access the backcountry.
“When we’re not using roads, it’s totally fine if anyone’s on them. But when we are using them, we are trying to update the website,” Duncan said, adding that she keeps in touch with local recreation groups to let them know when loggers are entering a high-use area.
“The guys on the road generally expect everyone to be calling [on a radio],” she said. “If you are going up without a radio, just use extra caution. If you do have a handheld, that’s awesome. Just make sure
you’re following the proper radio protocols when you use it.”
Duncan added that she hopes to continue working with recreation groups to make sure everybody can use the backcountry. For example, the community forest plowed extra pullouts along West Ridge last year to create parking for a popular skiing spot, according to her.
“People live here because they want to use the backcountry,” she said. “I think it makes sense to work with people to make it safe for everyone.”
Duncan also faced questions about a conflict with local mill Cedar Valley Holdings at the annual general meeting. The mill’s owner, Jason Alexander, raised concerns in April that the mill may close down due to insufficient cedar. Alexander claims he’s seen the community forest ship cedar to pulp mills in Prince George, a claim which The Goat has been unable to independently verify.
As of Aug. 5, the cedar mill was still operating but had not reached a resolution with VCF.
Duncan told The Goat she is unable to comment on the community forest’s current relationship with Cedar Valley Holdings.
When asked if she has any goals for the community forest, Duncan said she’s still getting the hang of her new role. However, she hopes to improve public outreach by updating the website more frequently, and invites locals with questions or concerns to visit the community forest’s office.
“We are definitely open to people who have concerns about areas [we’re logging] –we’re not trying to wreck anyone’s favorite
VCF’s new general manager dives right into new role
The forest has had three GMs in a year
VALEMOUNT COMMUNITY FOREST PHOTO
Alana Duncan (with Tikka), Valemount Community Forest’s new general manager, has been working there for six years, originally hired as a silviculture forester
picnic area,” she said. “Our office hours are generally 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for people to come in to talk to us.”
On top of having gone through three general managers within a year, the community forest is also losing its longtime board president Ainslie Jackman after Valemount Council chose not to renew her contract.
“We’re sad that Ainslie is no longer on the board, and she was a great person and mentor to have around for new board members and for staff alike,” Duncan said. “It was nice to have someone you (could) talk to
about pretty much anything, and they’ve had some experience with it.”
Despite the hectic year VCF has had, Duncan says she hopes to work with community members on resolving any concerns they have.
“We’re going to start moving forward,” she said. “The past is the past, and moving forward is the only way we can really all work together.”
This article originally appeared in The Rocky Mountain Goat.
UNBC president highlights school’s strong connection to northern industry
Geoff Payne, who is leaving UNBC after serving as its president, says the university offers programs that complement the skilled trades in BC.
and the trades in the province’s north.
The University of Northern British Columbia doesn’t offer courses that can lead to Red Seal certifications in the trades unlike its collegiate counterparts, but that doesn’t mean the work done at the university has no impact on industry
In a Wednesday, Aug. 20 interview, outgoing UNBC president Geoff Payne said that his institution plays a role in industry through some of its programs like its master of engineering degree in integrated wood design and micro credentials offered through its continuing
Colin Slark Citizen Staff
CITIZEN FILE PHOTO
studies department.
“With the innovation space at UNBC and with our partnerships with (the College of New Caledonia) and other entities, that connection to industry and innovation really is about doing things more efficiently,” Payne said.
“That sort of collaborative approach is what industry is looking for. If you look then at where UNBC graduates are, over sixty per cent stay in Northern British Columbia. Of course, being a very industry-driven area in British Columbia, obviously we play a role in supporting industries being successful.
Payne gave two examples of the university’s partnerships with industries in the north.
He said metals and mining giant Rio Tinto funds research that could benefit their industry. Canfor also supports research, he said, and the university plays a role in training qualified personnel who may eventually join their work-
force.
With advances with artificial intelligence and machine learning, Payne said industry is looking to UNBC to help move them forward and benefit their ecosystem as a whole.
Among UNBC’s continuing studies offerings are machine learning and artificial intelligence certificates, various programming related to natural resources and eight different courses related to the manufacturing, design, development and production of mass timber products.
This, Payne said, is part of an effort to help people in these fields keep pace with advances.
“One of the things we hear from industry a lot is their employees can’t go away and take four years to do a degree and come back,” he said.
“It just doesn’t work. So, we’re offering these flexible opportunities like our continuing studies programs, micro cre-
dentials and wrap-around skills where in players can send their employees to us or to the colleges and have these focused, short skill-based opportunities that are aligned to what they’re doing and where their industry is going.”
Partnerships with colleges are an important piece of the puzzle, Payne said. UNBC is part of the Northern Post-Secondary Council with CNC, Coast Mountain College and Northern Lights College.
“We’re always looking at pathways, new opportunities where students can move between the institutions, but also the communities in which we serve and how we can better make sure that those communities get access post-graduation,” Payne said.
“Whether that’s diplomas, degrees, certificates, micro credentials, having that access into the careers they’re associated with and I think that’s really important. I am a firm believer that education — regardless of whether it’s college,
university, post-secondary and general education — is a pathway for northern community sustainability.”
He said that it’s also not just about college students starting their post-secondary education there and moving to the university, it’s also important for university students to access opportunities to improve their skills and credentials at the colleges.
On top of work that involves the nuts and bolts of specific trades and industries, Payne said UNBC’s business school dean Ron Kemp is looking to have master of business administration students work on projects that help address the financial challenges faced by both industry and local communities.
“Our business program is really looking at how industry is running their operations or new innovations that are needed and then taking that information from the business and embedding that into other programs that we’re having at the institution,” Payne said.
BC’s Cedar LNG subsidy courts financial liability
Critics call $200M subsidy a ‘fossil fuel handout’
The BC government’s $200-million subsidy to electrify the Cedar LNG project is drawing sharp criticism as a fossil fuel handout and an unwise investment that also opens up potential legal risks after a new International Court of Justice ruling.
Premier David Eby and Energy Minister Adrian Dix said the public funding will go to the electrification of the Cedar LNG terminal, a floating liquefied natural gas facility co-owned by the Haisla Nation and Pembina Pipeline Corporation near Kitimat that is expected to come online in 2028.
The money will support the building of a new 287-kilovolt transmission line, substation, distribution lines and nearshore electrification so the facility won’t be powered by natural gas — an original condition for getting provincial approval for the project.
Powering the plant with clean electricity will bolster the economy at risk from “reckless decisions in the White House,” Eby said in a July 29 statement, adding the project would create jobs, generate revenue and emit less carbon pollution than other similar projects.
Up to 500 jobs will be created at the peak of Cedar LNG’s construction and 100 people will have full-time jobs when it’s up and running, according to the province.
Elected Chief Maureen Nyce of the Haisla Nation said the provincial funding allows the Nation to meet its goal of delivering a project with “the lowest possible carbon footprint” while advancing prosperity and development “on our own terms and in accordance with our values.”
“When Indigenous communities lead projects as owners, as is the case with Cedar LNG, we are able to ensure that these projects are developed in the most environmentally responsible manner, while generating revenues that enable us to protect our way of life and build longterm prosperity,” Nyce said.
But this isn’t the first time the project has received government support and critics question whether it will be the last.
BC’s investment in Cedar LNG follows another $200 million gifted to Cedar LNG by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government just prior to the election.
Kathryn Harrison, a political science professor at the University of BC who specializes in climate policy, categorized the funding as a fossil fuel subsidy that will accelerate the climate crisis — given that most carbon pollution from the export project will be generated when the gas is burned in other countries.
The province has framed the funding as a commitment to Indigenous economic reconciliation and has suggested Cedar’s
GOVERNMENT OF BC PHOTO
Energy
David
“clean LNG” will replace dirtier global alternatives. However, Harrison questioned whether the more costly Cedar LNG will be competitive in a global market that is already saturated with natural gas.When markets are oversupplied, prices drop — and high-cost producers like BC are disadvantaged, she added.
“My worry is this may be just the first in a series of subsidies needed to keep all LNG projects afloat,” she said.
Harrison questioned why Cedar LNG, with backers that had already promised to electrify and finance the project, would need public funding unless it wasn’t viable without government support.
“There are reasons to question the longterm competitiveness of any new LNG investments, not just in Canada, but elsewhere,” Harrison said, noting the most recent International Energy Agency forecast predicts a global LNG glut likely to continue into the 2030s — which will fuel lower prices and increased financial risks for newer projects.
“We need to be choosing investments and approving projects even without taxpayer investments that are the most viable for the long-term,” she said. Using public funds to establish LNG projects is a slippery slope with the risk they will need to continually be propped up by tax dollars.
By continuing investment in new LNG projects and supporting increased oil and
gas, the provincial and federal government may also find they’ll have to pay billions of dollars in compensation to other countries bearing the brunt of change, according to a recent landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice.
Rich, oil-producing states like Canada or jurisdictions like BC that don’t act to curb climate pollution and continue to subsidize, licence and boost production will be vulnerable to legal claims around climate harms in the future, said Jens Wieting, senior policy and climate advisor with Sierra Club BC.
“We have the poorest track record among the G7 countries when it comes to reducing pollution and meeting climate targets,” he said.
“I would expect that jurisdictions like Canada and BC are particularly at risk of becoming liable.”
BC’s parallel electrification efforts for heat pumps and transportation — alongside support for large fossil fuel infrastructure — create a conflict over limited clean energy resources, Wieting added.
“We need to prioritize electricity for solutions, not pollution.”
This article originally appeared in Canada’s National Observer.
Rochelle Baker Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Minister Adrian Dix, Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Maureen Nyce, and Premier
Eby announce a $200-million investment to electrify the Cedar LNG project in Kitimat.
By early September, BC politicians will decide the fate of the province’s next big LNG venture.
According to an announcement quietly posted on a provincial government website, the Ksi Lisims LNG environmental assessment was completed on Aug. 7 and referred to BC’s ministers of environment and energy for a final decision. The ministers — Tamara Davidson and Adrian Dix, respectively — were given 30 days to decide whether or not to approve the major fossil fuel development.
Ksi Lisims LNG is a proposed floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility, which would be built on the BC-Alaska border about 100 kilometres north of Prince Rupert. Backed by the Nisga’a government and Texas-based Western LNG, it would be supplied by the contested Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, an 800-kilometre project that will cross more than 1,000 waterways and dozens of First Nations’ territories.
BC’s natural gas export industry kicked off this summer when LNG Canada started operations in Kitimat. That facility, supplied by the controversial Coastal GasLink pipeline, is the first major liquefaction and export project built in Canada. If built, Ksi Lisims LNG would be capable of producing 12 million tonnes of LNG annually, nearly as much as LNG Canada will produce initially.
The announcement noted the federal government will also review the assessment and “a package of materials to support
the federal decision” that have been sent to the impact agency, which reviews major projects for compliance with Canada’s Impact Assessment Act.
On the same day it referred the Ksi Lisims LNG project for a decision, the environmental assessment office declined requests from Metlakatla and Lax Kw’alaams First Nations for dispute resolution processes. Both nations had previously entered into dispute resolution with the province but neither were able to reach agreement. (Another First Nation, Gitga’at, had also entered into the process but withdrew before completing.)
In near-identical letters sent to each nation on Aug. 7, Julie Chace, a senior official with the environmental assessment office, noted the office would not facilitate additional dispute resolution.
“I do not consider it necessary or reasonable for the (Environmental Assessment Office) and Metlakatla to participate in another facilitated (dispute resolution) process,” she wrote in one of the two letters. “Dispute resolution is a tool to help resolve substantial disagreements as a next step to reach consensus if parties are unable to reach consensus on their own.”
Chace added she took under consideration a request from Ksi Lisims LNG that the office refer the project for decision “without further delay.”
That request, which was submitted in a letter dated July 29, was written by the Texas company’s president and CEO, Davis Thames. In it, he urged the office to reject the requests and wrote “there is no prospect of achieving consensus
Decision looms for next major BC LNG export project
Ksi Lisims project would be built 100 km north of Prince Rupert
KSI LISIMS LNG VIDEO GRAPHIC
The floating LNG export facility proposed by Ksi Lisims LNG is seen in a graphic taken from a promotional video.
in a further facilitated dispute resolution over matters that have already been addressed.” Thames added the nations “will have an opportunity to raise their outstanding concerns in a meeting with the ministers during the 30-day decision-making phase.”
Chace’s letters echoed the wording used by the industry executive.
“Metlakatla’s outstanding concerns and lack of consent regarding the project and
sustainability recommendation may be presented directly to the ministers at this meeting, following referral and prior to their decision,” she wrote.
Neither Metlakatla nor Lax Kw’alaams were able to provide comment prior to publication. The BC government did not comment prior to publication.
This article originally appeared in The Narwhal
Matt Simmons Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing has invested almost $17.5 million with a trio of Canadian sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) pioneers aiming to accelerate development of technologies that could help convert the country’s lumber waste and CO2 emissions into low-carbon jet fuels.
Boeing will invest $10 million in a joint venture between Quebec companies Bioenergie AECN and Alder Renewables to advance a project that will turn sawmill by-products into biocrude for SAF, and $7.5 million in a pilot plant being built in BC by Dimensional Energy that can capture CO2 directly from industrial facility emissions and transforms it into green synthetic fuel.
The volumes of SAF produced by the pilot projects will be relatively small: a total of 50 million gallons a year compared to the almost 100,000 million gallons currently burned annually by passenger airlines, according to Statista, a data portal. But the potential could be “very significant” if stepped-up to commercial levels, said Boeing Canada CEO Al Meinzinger, speaking to Canada’s National Observer.
“We are a global company and committed to supporting Canada’s objective of being net-zero by 2050. These projects are clearly addressing a need articulated by government and industry,” he said, noting that the two SAF projects are part of Boeing’s strategic $280 million
investment in clean technology projects in Canada.
‘Enormous latent energy sources’
Chris Lohman, Boeing Canada’s head of sustainability, added: “These two projects were selected because of the enormous latent energy sources in Canada that they have the potential to unlock: sawmill waste residue that in years gone by went into the pulp and paper industry but is now looking for new uses and end-products, and CO2 that comes from heavy-emitting industry.”
“We are a global company and committed to supporting Canada’s objective of being net-zero by 2050. These sustainable aviation fuel projects are clearly addressing a need articulated by government and industry,” said Boeing Canada CEO Al Meinzinger.
Canada Transport’s climate action plan targets 10 per cent of aviation fuel being replaced by SAF by 2030 to decarbonize a sector that globally accounts for over two per cent of all CO2 emissions, according to the Air Transport Action Group, a lobbyist. SAFs can produce 80 per cent lower emissions than conventional jet kerosene.
“SAF is a very complicated nut to crack and each concept has its own unique challenges so it is important Boeing support companies to move these technologies down the field,” said Lohman.
SAFs — which can be generated from a range of industrial and commercial
BC plant turns sawmill byproducts into synthetic jet fuel
A worker fuels up a plane with ASTM D7566 aviation fuel made from Dimensional Energy high-performance synthetic hydrocarbons.
feedstocks as well as captured carbon — have the potential to make up 65 per cent of the emissions reduction needed by the aviation sector to reach net-zero in 2050, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association, an industry trade body.
Technology ‘valley of death’
The SAF generated by the two projects backed by Boeing will first be trialled in 16 P-8A Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance military aircraft ordered from Boeing by the Canadian government in November 2023, but Meinzinger said it was targeting future use in commercial airliners.
“These projects are aimed at the broadest possible market. We want to help these technologies traverse the ‘valley of death’ [between innovative concepts to commercial production] and get over the key engineering challenges so that they can get to economic scale,” he said.
Bioenergie AECN and Alder Renewables’ project, called Projet Avance, points to Canada’s “unique opportunity” with SAF, said Lohman, given the “vast, ready-made biomass resource” that can be found in the forested regions across the country “not just to create a useful low-carbon fuel for use in Canada but also one that is exportable.”
The Dimension Energy project, which will capture CO2 straight off a flue stack at a Lafarge cement facility in Richmond, BC, he added, is “highly replicable anywhere you have greenhouse gases being
generated by heavy industry.”
The Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels — made up of 60 airlines operating in the country — laid out a roadmap in 2023 aiming to have 265 million gallons of SAF being produced domestically by 2030 and by 2035 enough to meet 25 per cent of total demand. This could reduce emissions by 15-20 per cent for aircraft departures from Canada.
Meinzinger believes Canada is “not going to get anywhere” in its energy transition without moving away from its historical focus on energy-intensive fossil fuel-based products and services: “The world is energy-hungry but, in the long term, also sustainability-hungry.”
Lohman added that Canada “needs to make more of what we need here with what we’ve got,” adding that SAF is “at the intersection of this reality.”
SAF technologies, he said, can “disentangle” Canada from its dependence on petroleum for jet fuel by using biomass and CO2 to build more sustainable industries.
“This investment in new industries will bring enormous rewards if it bridges the gap between innovative technology and commercial products – jobs, economic development, expanded export markets,” he said.
This article originally appeared in Canada’s National Observer
Darius Snieckus
HANDOUT PHOTO
First Nations’ initiative calls for action on $60b in projects to ‘drive growth, deliver on climate goals, support Indigenous leaders’
Ed Hitchins Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
FORT ST. JOHN, BC — The First Nations Climate Initiative (FNCI) is calling for more flexibility in federal government actions to further its goals, and assist in developing more than $60 billion in projects to drive economic growth, deliver on climate goals and support Indigenous leadership.
The FNCI is described as an Indigenous-led initiative committed to “fostering resilient communities through strategic climate action, alleviating First Nations’ poverty, restoring ecosystems in First Nations’ traditional territories and enabling Indigenous people to be leading actors in the decarbonized economy,” according to its website
The organization is led by several First Nations in northern BC, including Halfway River First Nation in Wonowon. The others are Haisla Nation, the Metlakatla Nation and the Nisga’a Lisims Government.
Alex Grzybowski, a facilitator with FNCI, said as all projects – including the Cedar liquified natural gas (LNG) project by Haisla and South Kaien Logistics Park by Metlakatla Nation – are developed, the FNCI “has the concern that many people have for what’s going on with climate change and how to mitigate it.”
“The initiative started off with the investigation of learning about climate change,” said Grzybowski. “[By] increasing fluency and then ultimately thinking ‘what are the sort of policy directions that could be taken by the federal and provincial governments that would enable them to develop projects in a manner that would alleviate poverty in [the] communities, and achieve economic self determination while also mitigating climate change.”
A press release said FNCI seeks federal government actions to assist in developing more than $60 billion in projects that it
says will “drive Canada’s growth, create jobs and strengthen long-term competitiveness” while simultaneously “delivering on climate goals and supporting Indigenous leadership.”
They include the expansion of clean economy investment tax credits; investment in the development of low-carbon technologies; enabling of Indigenous-led offsets for climate obligations; creation of Atmospheric Benefit Sharing Agreements; and activation of Canada–Asia decarbonization pathways through climate-aligned export policies.
In particular, the North Coast Transmission Line (NCTL) from Prince George to the coast of BC is crucial as, according to Grzybowski, that’s “where the export is.”
“That’s where we have the kind of most limited supply of energy where we need it the most,” said Grzybowski. “We’ve spent a lot of time advocating for the North Coast Transmission Line (NCTL) to be a priority. We’re actively involved in negotiating co-ownership agreements between First Nations, BC Hydro and the provincial government.”
Grzybowski highlighted the importance of developing low-carbon technologies to become decarbonized, including methane pyrolysis, the process of breaking down natural gas.
“Instead of burning it, you can break the molecule into its constituent parts, being carbon and hydrogen,” said Grzybowski. “When you do it with methane pyrolysis, you get solid carbon and hydrogen.”
These can be used as a “feedstock” for various purposes, including fuel, ammonia or methanol.
“Instead of using natural gas as a fuel, you’re using it as feedstock,” said Grzybowski. “[But] you’re still utilizing all of the same infrastructure that you would normally use to transport natural gas.”
Ultimately, the FNCI would like to work with countries across the Pacific, including Japan and Korea, to benefit from both the Japanese power grid and the Korean steel industry.
Grzybowski says Japan is actively seeking to use LNG from Canada to decarbonize its industrial systems, including power generation via methane pyrolysis.
“Japan is interested in using ammonia as a fuel to cut coal,” said Grzybowski. “So you can mix ammonia in with coal and reduce the carbon footprint of the coal when you burn.
“They could manufacture the ammonia in Japan [but] rather than importing it as ammonia from Canada, [importing] LNG from Canada and manufacturing ammonia right
there using methane pyrolysis.”
With Bill C-5 to fast-track infrastructure energy projects in the approval process with the federal government, the FNCI would like to see an investment tax credit for intra-provincial LNG transmission lines, which Grzybowski calls a “good idea.”
He said the partners of NCTL, which include the province, BC Hydro and First Nations communities, are investing $4 billion. Grzybowski estimates a 15 per cent tax credit would return some $600 million to those communities.
For more information about FNCI and its objectives, visit the FNCI’s website.
This article originally appeared on energeticcity.ca.
B.C. town ‘built by industry’ adjusts to life with LNG
Matt Simmons
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
For the past few months, the buzz in the small coastal community of Kitimat, B.C., has been all about the flares.
LNG Canada, the newly completed gas liquefaction and export plant, began firing up its smokestack last fall, lighting the skies with a flame that got as tall as 90 metres at one point. That’s roughly the equivalent of four 18-wheeler trucks, stacked end-to-end on top of each other. It could be seen from more than 50 kilometres away.
“When they first started the flaring, myself, my boy and even my cats were affected by it,” Dustin Gaucher, a Haisla cultural researcher and educator, said on a phone call in early July. Gaucher lives more than a dozen kilometres up the hill from the industrial site, which was built on the Kitimat River estuary on Haisla Nation lands. “It sounded like a rocket ship going off all night and it smelled like my grandfather’s [boat’s] diesel engine, when that black burn-off initially comes out — but it smelled like
that for about two days.”
The flame burns off natural gas, which is mostly composed of methane.
According to LNG Canada, the largest flares are an expected part of getting the factory online. Now that production has started, the intensity of the noise and smell from the flare has abated — but the plant’s impacts are just beginning.
“Right now, I can’t really smell it,” Gaucher said. “I just came to my front door again and I’m looking at it and there’s lots of black coming out of there. Those particulates are floating right over our river and we have the salmon running into it — that’s what’s concerning to me.”
On June 30, LNG Canada successfully filled the belly of a 300-metre long ship with liquefied natural gas (LNG). It was the first of an estimated 170 ships it will fill and send overseas every year — for now. This is the project’s first phase. A second, which would double production, was previously approved by the B.C. government and is pending a final investment decision.
Kitimat has been an industrial hub since it was settled in the 1950s to serve as a company town to Alcan, an aluminum smelter now owned and operated by international mining giant Rio Tinto, which was powered by the newly built Kemano generating station. About 700 kilometres north of Vancouver, the town has seen its share of industries come and go: a methanol plant and a pulp mill both brought an influx of jobs before shuttering their doors in 2005 and 2010, respectively, leaving the town in an economic slump.
LNG Canada — a joint venture including some of the largest and wealthiest fossil fuel companies in the world — represents a massive industrial investment in the community. Including the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which supplies the facility and other upstream operations, the value of the project is estimated at $40 billion. Some in the community see it as a much-needed resurgence.
“It’s been a long journey to get here, to have the plant up and running — we’re very happy that it is done,” District of
Kitimat mayor Phil Germuth told The Narwhal. “We can now say that we are the LNG capital of Canada.”
Haisla leadership celebrate LNG Canada
For Germuth, a lifelong Kitimat resident and third-term mayor, launching Canada’s nascent LNG export industry from Kitimat is clearly a point of pride.
“Back in 1956, National Geographic described the Alcan and Kemano project as the most expensive project ever attempted by private industry here in Canada,” he said. “Fast forward just over 70 years and we were able to attract LNG Canada, which is the largest private sector investment in Canadian history. It’s quite something for a small town of just over 9,000 people to have two projects like that in its lifetime.”
The National Geographic article, in which the reporter complains about a $3.25 taxi fare and waxes poetic about the scenery — “milky-green water followed the long, winding, U-shaped bathtubs scoured out of the mountains
LNG CANADA PHOTO
The LNG Canada export terminal in Kitimat has been the ‘buzz’ in the community since it began operations.
We see an opportunity to build on our early phase-one successes and the benefits it’s already providing First Nations, communities, British Columbians and Canadians
by Ice Age glaciers” — outlined the engineering audacity of the Alcan project, which included reversing the flow of the Nechako River through a 16-kilometre tunnel bored into a mountain.
The article doesn’t cover about the forcible removal and displacement of the Cheslatta, Saik’uz and Stellat’en First Nations, all of which continue to be impacted by the smelter’s operations. Nor did it discuss the generational impacts on the Haisla, only mentioning the nation in a brief aside: “A few years ago the only humans here were ‘Kit-amaat’ Indians, the ‘People of the Falling Snow.’ ” Cʼimaucʼa (Kitamaat Village) is a reserve currently home to around 700 members of the Haisla Nation. The village sits directly opposite Alcan on the eastern shoreline of Douglas Channel.
Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Crystal Smith said the industry consortium behind LNG Canada was “unlike so many others” in that they “chose to build a relationship first before even considering building a project.”
“They focused on understanding what mattered first and foremost to Haisla Nation, and to Indigenous communities in the region,” she said in a statement
The Haisla, in addition to signing agreements with LNG Canada, which include direct financial benefits as well as employment and contract opportunities, are also majority shareholders of another project in Kitimat called Cedar LNG, which is currently under construction.
When LNG Canada announced it had successfully sent its first cargo last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney lauded the milestone and celebrated the involvement of the Haisla in the new project.
“Canada is exporting its energy to reliable partners, diversifying trade and reducing global emissions — all in partnership with Indigenous Peoples,” he said in a statement published by the consortium. (Carney’s claim about reducing global emissions is a subject of debate.)
Germuth previously told The Narwhal one of the best things to come from LNG Canada was strengthening the relationship between the settler community in Kitimat and Haisla leadership.
“The political relationship between the District of Kitimat and the Haisla Nation Council, it wasn’t there, it was terrible,” he said at the time. “LNG Canada came in … and they would bring us into the same meeting. That’s all it really took, was the two councils just hanging out together, getting to know each other at a project that we both support and that we’re both going to be greatly benefiting from.”
Now, he’s hopeful the consortium will move ahead with the second phase.
Teresa Waddington, a vice-president with LNG Canada, told The Narwhal the five corporations — Shell, Petronas, Korea Gas, Mitsubishi and PetroChina — that make up the consortium are in discussions about the potential expansion.
“A phase-two final investment decision will take into account factors such as overall competitiveness, affordability,
pace, future [greenhouse gas] emissions and stakeholder needs,” she said in an emailed statement. “We see an opportunity to build on our early phase-one successes and the benefits it’s already providing First Nations, communities, British Columbians and Canadians.”
‘Built by industry’: Kitimat mayor says residents are willing to live with the flare
Gaucher, who emphasized he’s not against industrial projects, said he’s still worried about potential health impacts from the LNG plant’s operations — including impacts on wildlife.
“What is this doing to the wolf pack that usually lives down around that area? What’s going on with the moose and the deer? We have lynx around here, we have cougars around here — how are they being affected by it?”
Emissions from flaring are permitted and monitored by the BC Energy Regulator. At the Kitimat site, they include carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, fine particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide, according to LNG Canada
Melissa Lem, a family doctor and president of Canadian Physicians for the Environment, said it’s important to remember LNG Canada does not operate in isolation — all of the gas it liquefies for export at the Kitimat facility is extracted from underground reserves, mostly by fracking, which also has consequences for community health.
“Fracking and LNG production accelerate climate change and release harmful pollutants — including benzene, toluene, formaldehyde and particulate matter linked with asthma, heart disease, birth defects and childhood leukemia,” she said in a statement. “Communities near fracking operations in northeastern B.C. are already experiencing these impacts, with higher rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes and respiratory diseases. Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected, with studies showing elevated levels of fracking-related chemicals in household air, water, and the bodies of pregnant women compared to unexposed populations.”
Kitimat, in part because of its long history of exposure to potentially harmful emissions, has an abundance of data on air quality, with six active monitoring stations recording publicly available information daily. LNG Canada did not directly answer questions about potential impacts to wildlife, referring The Narwhal instead to its website
Germuth admitted residents were concerned about the flaring when it was at its loudest and brightest but said most people he’s talked to are relieved the project is finally operating.
“Being a town that was built by industry, people understand that every once in a while, you’re going to have to put up with something to get the bigger goal in the end,” he said.
Lucy McRae, a member of local environmental group Douglas Channel Watch, said LNG Canada has done a good job of engaging with the community over the years and addressing concerns when they arose.
“Yesterday, we were in an all-day meeting with LNG Canada as we do every three months,” she wrote in an email in late June. She said several local organizations are involved in the quarterly meetings, including conservationists, hunters and fishers, community health groups and more.
“We talk about many topics to do with the project including environment and social issues,” she said, adding industry representatives at the meeting provide “extensive and all encompassing” updates and LNG Canada “brings in the people who can and do answer our questions and address our concerns.”
McRae said she does not support the expansion of fossil fuels, “but at the same time I understand how desperate many Canadians feel in creating jobs under any circumstances.”
“I don’t feel that I have experienced any ill effects from the project and truthfully speaking it has been good for the community,” she said.
This article originally appeared in The Narwhal.
Prince Rupert gas pipeline cleared to keep environmental permit indefinitely
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Sonal Gupta Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Prince Rupert gas pipeline project is “substantially started” and will keep its valid environmental certificate for the life of the pipeline, the BC Environmental Assessment Office has ruled.
The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline is jointly owned by the Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG, but other First Nations and environmentalists say the decision favours corporate interests over climate commitments and Indigenous rights.
Tara Marsden, sustainability director for the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs, said the decision was not unexpected, but still “damaging and daunting.”
She said the province frequently bends or breaks its own laws and regulations to accommodate PRGT, undermining the integrity of the environmental review process.
“This is absolutely not in the interests of Gitanyow and many other nations who
have expressed concern,” Marsden said. “It’s going to be a significant reversal of the climate policy of this government.”
The BC government has legislated targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But according to critics, pursuing additional LNG and pipeline projects will undercut any progress made by adding significant new emissions that were not considered in the province’s climate plans.
Marsden said the government is acting without responsibility, forcing First Nations to fight in court because it doesn’t respect consultation, Indigenous rights, UNDRIP or true consent — and the decision was politically and economically driven, not based on policy, law or sound science.
“This government can now do whatever it pleases with no accountability,” Marsden said. “First Nations are left to fight for these things on the ground and in the courts.”
She said the report by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) — the agency
Flickr/ Dennis Sylvester Hurd ( CC BY 2.0)
This is an aerial view of Prince Rupert, the coastal hub linked to the PRGT pipeline project, which secured its environmental permit to operate indefinitely.
tasked with technical review — was “very slim,” noting that Gitanyow’s own submission was likely twice as long.
Janelle Lapointe, senior advisor at the David Suzuki Foundation and member of Stellat’en First Nation, said the approval casts significant doubt on the province’s willingness to meet its climate targets, respect Indigenous rights and title, and even follow its own policy on determining whether a project has had a “substantial start.” The keyword — substantial start — is critical because under BC’s Environmental Assessment Act, a project’s environmental certificate will expire unless enough real, physical work has been completed on the ground before a set deadline — in this case, November 25, 2024.
According to the EAO report, the PRGT pipeline was considered “substantially started” because the company cleared 42 km of pipeline route, built nine permanent bridges, upgraded or built 47 km of access roads, and set up work areas before the deadline. The company also spent about $584 million on the project since 2013.
The concerns related to greenhouse gas emissions and incomplete permits were not part of the decision and was mainly based on the physical work completed on the ground.
“If PRGT was really a good project, it wouldn’t need a decade-old permit, quiet approvals, and a government bending the rules to push it through,” Lapointe said.
She said since the original environmental assessment certificate was issued in 2014, lands, waterways, and ecology have only become more vulnerable due to continued extraction, corporate greed, and the accelerating effects of climate change.
Lapointe said the project will cross hundreds of fish-bearing streams and rivers in a watershed that her community depends on.
The government is again refusing to ensure the project won’t harm their ecosystems, especially salmon — a key species important to their culture and vital to the local economy, she said.
“The province has failed to address the concerns of the Indigenous nations asserting their rights to protect our territory. It sets a very dangerous precedent,” Lapointe said.
She pointed out that newly passed Bill 15 and the PRGT approval highlight a troubling trend — the provincial government is making it easier for corporations to move projects forward, while making it difficult for Indigenous nations to exercise their rights and oppose developments that threaten their territories.
“Are they going to allow outdated permits from 2014 to be treated as more legitimate than the rights of sovereign nations? I am left wondering, why is our province bending over backwards to hand over critical energy infrastructure to American billionaires?” Lapointe said.
Christina Smethurst, communications head at Dogwood BC, a Victoria-based non-profit, non-partisan citizen action group, said while the EAO issued the approval, there has been no clear public statement or ownership from elected government officials about the decision, with significant environmental, Indigenous rights and economic implications.
“The BC NDP have abandoned any semblance of caring about climate change,” Smethurst said. “Where is the government on this? Who of our elected officials will take responsibility for making this decision?”
Marsden said Gitanyow is preparing legal and other actions, and the fight to protect their lands will continue. Lapointe said they would follow Gitanyow’s lead in the ongoing opposition to the pipeline.
Marsden also challenged the narrative that this project would help Canada’s energy independence.
“This isn’t about getting out from under the thumb of Americans. It’s actually about enriching people who are in Trump’s inner circle,” Marsden said.
This article originally appeared in Canada’s National Observer
