MLA Rice expresses strong enthusiasm for LNG development ... in Kitimat

MLA Jennifer Rice has been hailing the recent announcement of
the LNG Canada terminal for Kitimat through a range of messages

Since last weeks major shift in direction for the fortunes of the LNG industry in BC and the announcement that Shell Canada will be moving ahead with development of the LNG Canada Terminal in Kitimat, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice has been at the head of the local parade of celebration.

First starting out with some helpful guidance for constituents as to how to hear more of NDP leader John Horgan's decision to move LNG forward.

That shout out was followed by Ms. Rice offering up a few positive comments of her own for CFNR Radio in Terrace, all in celebration of the LNG Canada FID announcement and how it will help generate jobs and reunite families in the region.

This week, it's a top of the page declaration on her fall newsletter update to residents of the North Coast, trumpeting all the benefits on the way.

Though not mentioned in the course of her presentation is that most of those economic spin offs will be focused on the Kitimat and Terrace regions and not for the residents of the area that she represents.

The count off of all the positives on the Kitimat announcement, is something which might leave the folks back home in the home riding, both those that were proponents of LNG, as well as those who are still opposed to it,  to wonder just who is this lady?

The sudden conversion of the NDP to the brave new world of LNG development was best captured by the heavy hitters of British Columbia's journalists based in the south who cover the Legislature.

A collection of political observers who have offered up a number of reviews on the NDP's 180 degree turn on LNG that has taken place in just over one short year.

How Doctor No finally found a way to embrace LNG's lucrative offerings
Maybe Horgan should send Christy Clark a nice thank-you card
The NDP's conversion to LNG on the road to China
Greens on sidelines for BC's LNG party
LNG project may for BC Greens to show their true colours
Horgan considers ways to pass LNG Canada without a vote

For the Prince Rupert area, when it comes to the LNG files, Ms. Rice was best known for her opposition to the two most prominent proposals that were destined for this region over the last few years.

That opposition was most famously documented in the case of the Pacific Northwest LNG project. when MLA Rice and all NDP MLA's across the Northwest signed the Lelu Island declaration of January 2016.

The Pacific NorthWest LNG and the Aurora LNG project proposed for Digby Island have now both been rendered to the could have been files ... as those two International energy giants regrouped and moved on to other projects that they felt would make for a better investment.

Malaysia's Petronas signing as a partner in the Kitimat terminal, while the state oil company of China CNOOC shifted its gaze from Prince Rupert to Squamish and an investment in the Woodfibre terminal project.

Last summer, Ms. Rice suggested that the economic future of the North Coast was bright, though since the twin cancellations of the local LNG projects, she has not had much to say about the prospect of any further opportunities for the industry on this side of Rainbow Summit.

And none of the MLA's recent messages in the wake of the NDP's new found endorsement of the LNG industry, delivers any indication if she now believes that there is a place for Prince Rupert, or Port Edward as part of the NDP's new and improved LNG blue prints.

A little clarity on LNG for the North Coast might be of some interest to both communities, as they remain on the hunt for investment, job creation and revenue generation,  but now are suddenly watching as the focus of much of the LNG future seems centred on the Douglas Channel area.

Considering that she's not even their MLA, the residents of Skeena must be flattered with all of her attention towards their successful wooing of the Shell Canada project, not to mention some of her other high profile appearances in their communities in recent months.

Back at the home office on the North Coast, a curious collection of residents might find it helpful for  a few more details on her views on the local economy and what support she will offer for this area, as well as if her government will now work to bring a similar scale of job creation to the Prince Rupert area.

For more background on the LNG Canada announcement see our post from last week.

A wider overview of the state of LNG development in the Northwest is available here.

Further items of interest related to the work of the North Coast MLA in Victoria can be reviewed from our Legislature archive page.

Follow our companion blog D'Arcy McGee, for more background on the political scene in Victoria.


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