Canada, BC, Join Haisla and KLNG Partners in Marking Project Go-Ahead

The Governments of Canada and British Columbia joined with Haisla Nation Council, Apache Canada, and EOG Resources Canada Wednesday to celebrate the November 25, 2010, signing of an agreement signifying the decision to proceed with the $4.5-billion Kitimat LNG project on Haisla reserve land on the Douglas Channel.

“Our current Council and previous Councils have worked towards this day since the 1980s,” says Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Dolores Pollard.

“Not only have our people received immediate benefits from the project, in the form of a $56-million payment for the sale of our equity in Kitimat LNG, but the long-term, regular lease and property tax payments combine with the employment and business opportunities associated with the project to provide a greater measure of economic stability than we have ever experienced.

“We thank Apache Canada and EOG Resources and their team at Kitimat LNG for seizing this opportunity and for recognizing the concerns and issues of the Haisla people,” says Pollard. “We also want to thank the people at the Governments of Canada and British Columbia who worked so diligently on this project over the past year.”

Speaking on behalf of the Government of Canada, the Hon. John Duncan, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians, says “Our Government is committed to supporting economic opportunities for First Nations and is pleased to have worked with the Haisla Nation and Kitimat LNG to negotiate a lease to help make this project a reality.

“The signing of this lease will create investment opportunities not only for the Haisla, but for the region and the province and it is a concrete example of the importance of working together in partnership,” says Duncan.

The Honourable Steve Thomson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resource Operations, spoke on behalf of the Government of British Columbia.

“Strong relationships with First Nations are vital to the long-term future of natural resource development in British Columbia, for both government and industry alike,” says Thomson. “Increasingly we are seeing industry working closely with First Nations and local communities, and what the Haisla people, industry and governments have accomplished on this project is a great example of that new relationship.”

Kitimat LNG President Janine McArdle said the unique relationship established with the Haisla First Nation has played an integral part in moving the project ahead.

“The Haisla people have truly embraced the Kitimat LNG project from its inception. We are very grateful for their continued support and look forward to a long and prosperous partnership with the Haisla First Nation,” said McArdle.

“Today’s signing marks another big step forward for Kitimat LNG. This project will play a key role in the economic and social development of the Haisla First Nation for many years to come.”

Kitimat LNG has received federal and provincial environmental approvals for the export terminal. Initial shipments of LNG from the Kitimat facility to the Asia-Pacific region are expected to begin in 2015.

Construction and operation of the Kitimat LNG facility is expected to create hundreds of well-paying jobs, lead to numerous opportunities to supply labour, products and services and provide 100 direct permanent jobs when in operation.

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Source: marketwire, March 10, 2011;