LNG Deal Debate Begins Today
Victoria, B.C.- A special sitting of the B.C. Legislature starts today as the government presents the package it has worked out with Pacific NorthWest LNG.The agreement is considered the template for other LNG proposals, and provides guarantees of compensation should certain taxation issues change.
In detailing the package last week, Minister of Finance Mike deJong said the agreement “sets the rules” for an industry which hasn’t existed in B.C. before.
The Liberals have been sending out signals that they expect the NDP to oppose the package, pointing to a social media comment made by the NDP environment critic Spencer Chandra Hebert. In that comment, Hebert said the deal is “a bad deal for B.C. in a whole bunch of ways” and cites climate change, First Nations rights, and the sale of B.C. resources for “next to nothing.”
The agreement would have to be approved before Pacific NorthWest makes a final investment decision on their project.
There has been speculation the debate could last as long as two weeks
Comments
Natural gas has a value to BC’s citizens and it is a non-renewable resource. Someday it will all be gone, then what? When that day comes, its sale must leave our children with a very sizeable fund. A fund that can provide for whatever energy source that has taken the place of natural gas. Our children or grandchildren or grandchildren deserve such a fund.
Any legislation passed today must ensure the future of BC. It must provide some gain for the corporation that sells the gas for us otherwise there is no point in the corporation selling the gas. BC has no obligation to the corporation, but BC has an obligation to its future citizens. It is the fiduciary duty of BC’s legislature to provide for BC’s future generations.
The idea of legislating a tax and royalty system that binds the Province for 25 years is a potential abrogation of the fiduciary duty of BC’s legislature. Whatever legislation passed to enable the sale of natural gas must provide the Province with direct benefits, as well as indirect benefits. The corporation must pay a royalty for the gas that is independent of the market and the corporation must pay an income tax. Of course, if the corporation has no income, then the income tax will be zero. It is appropriate that capital and operating costs be used in determining the income, but the royalty must always be there.
The royalty can be determined now. There are estimates of the amount of recoverable gas there is and estimates of the size the fund will have to be to provide for our successors can be done now. Divide the fund by the amount of gas and that determines the royalty. If the corporation feels it is too high, then let them walk away. Our children will then have the gas to use for their needs. Our children deserve a portion of any non-renewable resource that we sell. Incidentally, this includes our mineral wealth too as it is non-renewable too. Our renewable resources need to be farmed, not mined, so our children can expect the revenue in perpetuity.
Cc all MLAs and some newspapers
all we need to do is look to how Norway has benefited from its natural resource which happens to be oil. Why give it away just to create a few jobs.
Cheers
how is it given away?
Steve Cooley think methane hydrates a vast untapped source of fuel. The Japanese are researching how to tap into that huge energy source.
These are the guarantees Australia received in its LNG deal:
LNG Companies Must:
– Hire Local Labour
– Use Local Services
– Buy Local Goods and Materials
– Fund Conservation
Our Provincial Leaders got none of these guarantees from LNG Companies, this is not a good deal for British Columbia!
Conservation – like accidentally killing an estimated 1500 animals on a nature reserve during construction?
They must have run out of local skill set because they are hiring worldwide for Gorgon
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