Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/554714
a u g u s t / s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 53 "We are working diligently on the project with the plan to proceed to con- struction and eventual operations, creating significant benefits for the region, prov- ince and country," said Culbert, adding that construction could begin in 2015 with operations commencing by 2019-20. Culbert said the project would create up to 4,500 construction jobs, up to 330 long- term operations careers, about 300 local spin-off jobs and approximately 4,000 sustainable jobs in northeast BC through Petronas' subsidiary Progress energy Canada recently purchased for about $6 billion. However, the BC NDP caucus has claimed the PDA includes no guaranteed jobs for British Columbians. They said Petronas has already indicated it could get up to 70% of its workers from overseas. But even with provincial approval and the likelihood of federal permission in the fall, the consortium still faces hurdles from the Lax Kw'alaams and Gitga'at First Nations on the west coast and others in northeast BC. Lax Kw'alaams members recently over- whelmingly rejected PNW LNG's offer of $1.15-billion over 40 years in return for their consent to having an export terminal on Lelu Island, located next to Flora Bank in northwestern BC. Flora Bank, a sandy reef-like area, contains eelgrass beds cru- cial to the survival of juvenile salmon in the estuary of the Skeena River, according to band officials. The consortium wants to construct a 1.6-km-long suspension bridge over Flora Bank, and then connect with a 1.1-km- long trestle starting on the western edge of Flora Bank and extending southwesterly to a point beyond Agnew Bank. They had previously considered but discarded the option of tunneling under Porpoise Channel from Lelu Island to nearby Ridley Island, and then placing LNG pipes along a trestle originating from Ridley Island and toward a marine terminal in Chatham Sound. Using Ridley Island, however, has prob- lems. Both Ridley and Lelu islands are federal Crown properties administered by the Prince Rupert Port Authority but Ridley is within Prince Rupert city limits and Lelu is within the District of Port Edward. The Gitga'at, on the other hand, are demanding a judicial review of the govern- ment's decision not to include it among the five First Nations consulted on the project – even though the band is based in Hartley Bay, 121 km away from the proposed LNG site. The premise behind the action is that two-thirds of the band's members live in Prince Rupert and thus have rights-of-use in that area. If the action is successful it may force the provincial government to better define why some groups are given full consultation rights and others are not. Also, the Blueberry River First Nation near Fort St. John has raised consultation and treaty rights issues, and is mounting a legal challenge to any royalty agreement with Progress Energy, the largest holder of drilling rights in the Montney play with 215 locations drilled and another 15,000 sites identified. Also, Chief Roland Willson of the West Moberly First Nation near Chetwynd has publically vowed that the government can have the Site C hydro- electric dam in northeastern BC or LNG, The proposed $36-billion LNG project near Prince Rupert, northwest British Columbia. Source: Pacific NorthWest LNG.