Prince George – Peace River MP Bob Zimmer is hoping a petition he tabled in the House of Commons yesterday will sway some minds in the federal cabinet.
Ottawa has until the end of the week to make a final decision on the Pacific Northwest LNG project, a $11.4B liquefied natural gas export facility proposed for Kitimat’s Lelu Island. Opponents are concerned the mega project would would have a large negative impact on wild salmon habitat.
Zimmer says the Liberal cabinet met today to discuss the project, “hopefully it’s enough to tip the balance in favour of it going forward. So we will see. It’s up to cabinet”
He says he expects a ‘yes’, but is a little worried about what kind of conditions could come along with that.
“Obviously we want good conditions on the project that are good for the environment etc. But we want conditions that are not what I call a poison pill, that kill the project just because it’s overly onerous or costly.”
A draft of the federal environmental assessment said the project will cause significant environmental impacts, but mitigation efforts would be able to avoid negative impacts for fish habitat.
The company behind the project, Petronas still has to bring it before shareholders for approval. They also have vocal opponents in the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation, on whose traditional territory the terminal will be placed.
The petition Zimmer presented contained 1,904 signatures.
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