I never knew Premier John Horgan and his NDP cohorts have such a great sense of humour!
But there was BC’s self-proclaimed environmental champion, standing right next to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kitimat … both of them beaming and laughing … thoroughly enjoying themselves at the prospect of a $40 Billion Liquid Natural Gas pipeline, processing megaproject plant that will bring hundreds of additional tankers to the West coast each year.
“This is a spectacular day for all British Columbians,” the NDP leader deadpanned.
“I can’t tell you how proud and how pleased I am to have the opportunity to lead the government’s work with all levels of government to make life better for all British Columbians,” Horgan pontificated … reminding me of some Jerry Seinfeld-created character trying to court favour with his targeted audience.
“I can’t stop smiling,” the Premier grinned, delivering his political punchline to those within listening range.
But environmental activists … especially those with intact memories … were not laughing.
Why?
Because as Michael Smyth, columnist for The Province, in fact recalled, there used to be another Horgan/NDP … without the big grin when it came to LNG.
“Although the official NDP position was to support the industry in principle, the New Democrats opposed the Petronas project and ridiculed Christy Clark’s previous Liberal government for its optimistic courting of the LNG sector” Smyth wrote in September.
“I would stop spending all my time talking about an industry that’s going nowhere,” Horgan said in 2015.”
(You can read the entire Smyth column here: https://theprovince.com/news/bc-politics/mike-smyth-lng-politics-ramp-up-as-massive-project-approval-looms … a really highly pertinent retrospective. )
In fact, in 2017, the new NDP government went so far as to cancel an international LNG conference planned for BC. Naysayers denounced and ridiculed the Christy Clark Liberal regime’s LNG dreams: the world LNG markets are oversupplied; the prices are too low; the environmental and coastal vessel impact would be devastating.
Some even pooh-poohed Clark’s LNG industry push as a “fantasy’ and even “pixie dust”.
Now they’re all sneezing!
Although certainly nothing to sneeze at are the huge GIVE-AWAYS the NDP have agreed to for the project:
“Horgan’s government promised LNG Canada in March approximately $5.3 billion in tax breaks, including exempting the project from planned increases to the carbon tax and exempting construction from the provincial sales tax” The Vancouver Sun reported Oct. 4.
The NDP is also reportedly “repealing the previous Liberal government’s 3.5 per cent LNG income tax”… and is looking at ways to do that without even having the Legislature vote on the matter, so the Greens don’t quash the deal! (Read The Sun full story here: https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/horgan-considers-ways-to-pass-lng-canada-project-without-a-vote.)
Talk about GIVE-AWAYS to big corporations and offshore resource developers! And this is being done by the NDP!!!
Can you even imagine the outcry on the left if the Liberals had not only given such massive tax breaks but also promised not to invoke a planned LNG income tax?
No laughing matter there …. but what we could all laugh about today … or cry over … is the hypocrisy of the NDP’s newfound belief in not only the viability of massive LNG exports, but also their huge give-aways to seal the deal and their failure to adequately deal with concerns those tankers will pose for the West Coast’s endangered orca population and coastline perils.
LNG is different from oil, goes the latest spin. (Especially NDP LNG as opposed to Liberal LNG? LOL!)
Let’s keep it real: in case of a major accident and massive release, yes, LNG could vaporize, not sink into the ocean waters. BUT those vapors are highly explosive and any accident in port or nearby could still be devastating.
Plus, although the cargo will not be oil … the millions of gallons of bunker fuel propelling all those LNG-laden tankers will be!!!! What happens then … in a major port or coastal accident or disaster?
And what about all the concerns we’ve heard about propeller noise and all the increased traffic will have on the orcas and other marine life on the Pacific coast?
The LNG project will add 350 vessels a year … 50 more than Trans Mountain’s additional 300 vessels a year.
Are the whales supposed to know the difference … and adjust accordingly between nice tankers and bad tankers?
Don’t get me wrong.
I support the LNG project … including construction of the 670-km pipeline that will bring the product from northeastern BC to Kitimat: as long as state of the art environmental standards and protections are included on land and at sea; as long as most of the jobs go to British Columbians, Canadians and First Nations; and, as long as a fair share of the riches/benefits also go to British Columbia, Canada and First Nations.
But I am no hypocrite.
I also support the Trans Mountain project, under the VERY SAME rules: as long as state of the art environmental standards and protections are included on land and at sea; as long as most of the jobs go to British Columbians, Canadians and First Nations; and, as long as a fair share of the riches/benefits also go to British Columbia, Canada and First Nations.
And so should Horgan and the NDP … ending their hypocrisy.
Harv Oberfeld
(Reminder: Follow me @harveyoberfeld on Twitter to get First Alerts of all new postings on this BC-based political blog.)