By James Peters

Kamloops MLA Milobar on LNG Canada announcement: “It’s definitely a good day for the province”

Oct 2, 2018 | 11:24 AM

KAMLOOPS — The B.C. Liberal MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson is lauding today’s announcement by LNG Canada that it has made a final investment decision leading to the construction of Canada’s first liquefied natural gas export terminal near Kitimat.

The $40 billion project is the largest single private investment in Canadian history, and is expected to have ripple effects throughout Western Canada’s resource-based economy.

Peter Milobar says that includes in his hometown.

“It’s definitely a good day for the province and especially up in the Kitimat area. But when you look at what happens with this type of investment, especially for a city like Kamloops that services a lot of the resource sector, there’s always that trickle effect, be it staging areas or suppliers needing to supply the construction and the ongoing maintenance of these large projects,” said Milobar.

Milobar says the economic spinoff will begin with short-term construction jobs, but that’s just the beginning.

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“I think you’re going to see various stages,” said Milobar. “So, of course, at the beginning stage, the construction side of it and the service industries that go with that will be huge. It will take a couple of years to fully see the impact. Then as it gets into operation, you’ll see the royalties and what that does for a stable revenue stream moving forward.”

Critics have expressed dismay at the decision, including Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver, who said B.C. will need to double down its emission reduction efforts in order to meet climate targets now that a large emitter has been approved.

Milobar, the B.C. Liberal environment critic, says he is concerned about how his political foes handle the province’s environmental plans in the years to come.

“I think the concern will be if the Green Party decides to rubber stamp an unrealistic climate plan moving forward that has check-in dates long after the next election so that they have a way out to say they’ve held to their principles when in fact they’ve not, and they’ve propped up the government based on what they say is their fundamental core reason for being,” said Milobar.

The previous B.C. Liberal government was a big proponent of an emerging LNG export industry, and Milobar says it’s likely the opposition Liberals will vote with the government to ensure regulations pertaining to the LNG Canada project pass.

“We want to see what’s in the deal in it’s totality, but certainly, conceptually we definitely support LNG for obvious reasons,” said Milobar. “I think it’s a case of making sure there’s maximum benefit to the citizens of British Columbia and an ongoing legacy of that. When we see that and make sure we didn’t sell the whole farm away, then our party would be inclined to support.”