Nisga’a Nation’s LNG plans face opposition from neighbouring Indigenous group over climate concerns

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Plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal in British Columbia backed by the Nisga’a Nation have come under opposition from a neighbouring First Nation over doubts the energy project will meet its goal of net-zero emissions.

The Nisga’a, in collaboration with corporate partners in the venture, filed a 680-page detailed project description with the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (BCEAO) in April to seek regulatory approval for the $55-billion megaproject, named Ksi Lisims LNG.

But the Lax Kw’alaams band council is opposing the plans for the export project, which would be Canada’s second-largest terminal for exporting LNG, at Wil Milit on Pearse Island on the West Coast.

Ksi Lisims should not be allowed to advance to the next stage of the assessment process, the Lax Kw’alaams said in a document filed last month with the BCEAO. The document refers to a recent letter from the band council questioning the energy project’s target of net-zero emissions.

Ksi Lisims would be at odds with B.C.’s climate goals to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions within the province, even with the project relying on lower-carbon hydroelectricity to help turn natural gas into liquid form, the Lax Kw’alaams said in the letter sent to the regulator.

“Climate change is a direct existential threat to the cultural continuity of Lax Kw’alaams as an Indigenous people,” according to the letter.

The regulator told the Lax Kw’alaams this month that it is prepared to have B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman appoint a facilitator for non-binding dispute resolution.

Garry Reece, the elected Lax Kw’alaams Mayor, said he is adamant about protecting the rights of his First Nation. The Nisga’a are helping to pursue Ksi Lisims “without respecting our rights,” Mr. Reece said in an e-mail last week, adding that his band council will “take whatever action it needs to, to make sure this project does not proceed.”

The energy project’s partners are the Nisga’a, Western LNG and a group of natural gas producers called Rockies LNG. The project, named after the Nass River in the Nisga’a language, would include investments in floating LNG facilities on the West Coast, an 850-kilometre pipeline route and drilling for natural gas wells in northeast B.C.

The BCEAO has been collaborating with the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada during the initial stages of the regulatory review.

The Ksi Lisims project’s export site is located about 90 kilometres west of Gitlaxt’aamiks, which is home to the Nisga’a Lisims government led by elected president Eva Clayton. Ms. Clayton is defending the project, describing LNG as a crucial transition fuel in efforts to mitigate climate change globally.

“The fact is, reducing B.C. and Canadian emissions won’t solve the climate crisis. Our emissions are very small by comparison to the big emitters like China, but we can have an outsized impact on climate change mitigation due to our low-carbon advantage,” she said in an e-mail, emphasizing that Ksi Lisims will be innovative in striving for net-zero emissions.

The community of Lax Kw’alaams attracted international attention in 2015 after eligible voters overwhelmingly rejected Pacific NorthWest LNG’s $1-billion cash offer over 40 years, aimed at securing support for building an $11.4-billion export terminal on Lelu Island, located near Prince Rupert, B.C.

In early 2017, the Lax Kw’alaams under then-mayor John Helin agreed to support revised plans by Pacific NorthWest, which were led by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas. But in July, 2017, Pacific NorthWest cancelled the project.

The Nisga’a, which signed a treaty in 1998, have sought in recent years to acquire territory at the Nass River’s estuary at Nasoga Gulf, near Pearse Island. But that attempt to claim ownership of Nasoga Gulf is being contested by the Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla First Nation.

In 2019, the elected leaders of the Nisga’a, Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla and Haisla created the First Nations Climate Initiative as a think tank, which argues that exporting LNG is compatible with supporting climate action. The Lax Kw’alaams, however, subsequently suspended their participation in the climate initiative.

Rebecca Scott, a spokeswoman for Ksi Lisims, said the energy project is making progress. “Ksi Lisims LNG will be one of the most significant Indigenous-led projects in Canadian history, and can become one of the foremost examples of reconciliation in action,” Ms. Scott said in a statement. “The Nisga’a Nation is planning for Ksi Lisims LNG to be the linchpin of economic development in the Nass Valley.”

Currie Gosnell, a Nisga’a member who works as a carpenter in Gitlaxt’aamiks, said the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy will be complicated. “They will never wipe out the carbon footprint of a windmill because of the materials needed to build one,” he said.

Mr. Gosnell said Ksi Lisims would be good for local economic development, but he wants to see more details before forming his opinion on the project. “I’m neither for nor against it,” he said, before he stepped into his pickup truck to drive to his next job in Gitlaxt’aamiks, formerly known as New Aiyansh.

The goal of Ksi Lisims is to begin exporting LNG to Asia in late 2027, with the project expected to run for at least 30 years.

The Lax Kw’alaams are also criticizing Enbridge Inc.’s proposal to construct the Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission pipeline project from northeast B.C. to the export site at Wil Milit on Pearse Island. Westcoast Connector is one of two pipeline options being considered by Ksi Lisims. The other pipeline option is TC Energy Corp.’s Prince Rupert Gas Transmission, which was originally proposed to move natural gas from northeastern B.C. to Lelu Island.

Westcoast Connector was initially envisaged for transporting natural gas to Ridley Island, located across from Lelu Island. Enbridge is considering applying for an extension to the environmental assessment certificate granted in 2014 for the B.C. pipeline project.

“We have not yet determined the timeline on when an extension application might be filed or whether the project will ultimately proceed,” Enbridge spokesman Jesse Semko said in a statement.

Shell PLC-led LNG Canada, currently under construction in Kitimat, B.C., would become the first Canadian export terminal for the fuel when it opens in 2025.

LNG Canada’s initial capacity has been set at 14 million tonnes a year of exports to Asia, compared with Ksi Lisims LNG’s 12 million tonnes a year. The contentious Coastal GasLink pipeline being built by TC Energy would transport natural gas from northeast B.C. to LNG Canada’s Kitimat terminal.