Lax Kw'alaams community information sessions on LNG nearing an end

Lax Kw'alaams residents taking in
an information session providing
background on the proposed Pacific
NorthWest LNG project
(from Lax Kw'alaams Facebook page)

Terrace based members of the Lax Kw'alaams Band will take part in one final community meeting tonight, the gathering held as part of an information sharing process, with Band officials sharing details and background on the proposed Pacific Northwest LNG project.

Tonight's meeting which starts at 7 PM at the Best Western Terrace is the last of four sessions that the Lax Kw'alaams Band has held over the last week, with previous sessions hosted in Lax Kw'alaams, Prince Rupert and Vancouver.

Few details have been made public about those previous sessions to this point, with attendance of the Prince Rupert session estimated to be at 130 members of the local Lax Kw'alaams membership taking in the local information meeting.

A previous session held in Lax Kw'alaams also attracted an interested and motivated crowd, taking advantage of the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers in attendance and offer up opinions both pro and against related to some of the new information provided about the project proposed for Lelu Island.

The final community meeting tonight comes as hereditary chiefs in opposition to the proposed LNG development at Lelu Island continue with their efforts to have their concerns addressed by the Federal Government.

On Tuesday, the Vancouver Sun outlined the latest step that has been taken by the hereditary chiefs, with the group forwarding a letter to the CEAA last Friday that calls for a four month extension to the Review process to allow for the collection of more scientific evidence.

The letter to the CEAA has not as of yet been added to the volume of documentation available on the CEAA's Pacific NorthWest LNG project page.

The story in the sun includes some comments from former Mayor Garry Reece who observes that the Crown has ignored the hereditary tribes and houses whose aboriginal rights and titles will potentially be infringed by the project.

Mr. Reece, noting that he is also a hereditary chief, also expanded on the the current controversy in the Lax Kw'alaams community. Adding that the people of Lax Kw'alaams have made it clear that it is not the band council's choice to make decisions on their territories.

You can review the full Vancouver Sun article here.

The information sessions for Lax Kw'alaams residents come as the CEAA process related to the Pacific NorthWest LNG project moves towards the finish line, with the federal assessment agency expected wrap up its Finald Draft Report before turning the process over to the federal cabinet in September, or October.

More background on the Pacific NorthWest LNG project can be found on our archive page here.

Further notes on items of interest from Lax Kw'alaams can be reviewed here.