Ksi Lisims LNG: the ugly truth

Despite overwhelming pushback of more than 500 public written submissions, the BC EAO (BC Environment Assessment Office) has fast-tracked approval for the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG project, promoted by the BC govt as a 'joint venture with the Nisga'a Nation' (but is in fact 100% owned by Texas-based Western LNG).  The Ksi Lisims project would be a floating LNG plant (built in Korea!) situated at the north end of Pearse Island in the Nass River estuary on Nisga’a land.

The plant requires the construction of a massive pipeline - the previously approved (but not-yet built) Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line (PRGT), which was originally intended to supply the Pacific NorthWest LNG project abandoned by Petronas - to transport fracked methane gas from northeastern BC to the terminal for liquefaction before shipment to Asian markets.

Methane, the primary component of fossil gas, emits fugitive emissions that rank as the second-largest contributor to rising global temperatures, following C02.  These emissions occur throughout the entire lifecycle of LNG, from fracking & flaring to the liquefaction process & transportation.

[To give an idea of the EAO's application requirements for large projects, check out this link & gasp in disbelief at the 100+ pages of details & oversights this project had to satisfy for approval:
FRX_DRAFT_Application_Information_Requirements_12Jan2026_PCP.pdf (skepticism allowed - nay, expected!)]

Feedback on the project's EAO includes:  Concerns over greenhouse gas emissions from the project, impacts on the marine environment & Nass River salmon, impacts of increased tanker traffic on whales & other environmental impacts.

As the PRGT pipeline crosses Gitksan Naton territory, the Gitksan Watershed Authorities' submission stands out: “The project application does not seem to have adequately addressed or even characterized the impacts to Gitksan interests & rights. Lacking proper aquatic baseline information for assessment and evaluation is a major concern. [..]  We call on the BC Environmental Assessment Office and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to take the time to engage with the Gitksan and address Gitksan Watershed Authorities concerns with this proposed project before approving it.”

The Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition wrote, “Approximately 150 annual tanker visits for LNG transport through the proposed facility pose potential risks to whale species in frequented waters."

In its submission, the City of Terrace’s Economic Development office says the LNG Canada development in Kitimat has resulted in increased economic activity for Terrace, but that it has generally been negative for the city, as the increased activity has strained city services without providing any additional revenue.

“The City of Terrace sees its role as a hub as detriment to Terrace and especially the quality of life for its residents,” the office writes in its submission. “Being the hub has allowed for massive inflation in professional and retail services, a strain on municipal infrastructure like roads, refuse disposal, lodgings and housing.

“Some might see this influx as a key economic driver but it has actually been the opposite.."

[EAO info from an article by Nelson Bennett at www.biv.com: 
B.C. environmental review gets earful against Nisga'a's Ksi Lisims LNG - Business in Vancouver]

Gitanyow Nation's input is even more pointedly critical of Ksi Lisims.  Quoted from their website ():  "This callous decision to proceed with the environmental review without adequate consideration of the project's potential impacts on salmon, climate, and Indige3nous sovereignty is a glaring betrayal of trust," said Simogyet Malii/Glen Williams. "British Columbia's refusal to engage meangingfully with our concerns and immediately participate in Gitanyow's Wilp Sustainability Assessment Process is an insult."  (For more info go to  www.gitanyowchiefs.ca)

Dogwood BC's website section on Ksi Lisims is equally scathing, as these articles show: B.C. can have affordable, renewable power – or LNG (with the sub-heading: "Clean energy offers peace, prosperity and political sanity.  Oil companies plan to steal it.") & Epstein, Trump … and Mark Carney’s Ksi Lisims LNG - Dogwood with the sub-heading "Backlash builds as Liberals try to fast-track American-owned gas project"  Their website includes letter-writing opportunities for public input to the BC Govt, eg. PM Carney: no taxpayer subsidies for American billionaires! - Dogwood - from which I include my own (edited) version here - & encourage you to visit & provide your own...

Dear recipient's full name will go here,

Please don’T give my tax $ to American billionaires!

I am appalled that the Wall Street sickos who bankrolled Jeffrey Epstein & Donald Trump are hoping for a special gift :  billions of dollars from Canada’s Liberal govt!!

The Ksi Lisims LNG project would be 100% American-owned & built in Korea, then floated over & hooked up to an American-built pipeline on the B.C. coast.  Since the project’s Texas owner is struggling to find buyers for the gas, or banks willing to loan money for construction, that’s where we come in.

By adding Ksi Lisims to his “fast-track” list, PM Carney hopes to “de-risk” this project with OUR tax dollars, & convince Wall St to invest!  It’s a plan that would steal money from job-creating projects in Canada, jack up our utility bills & increase U.S. control of our energy resources.

I can’t think of a worse use of public money than giving Wall Street billionaires huge subsidies for an American-owned gas terminal in BC!

Please confirm you will be opposing any taxpayer handouts to the Ksi Lisims LNG proposal.  Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Saz Marguerite Chesterman
Vancouver, BC

This page's images are screenshots of others' websites, credited above - any copyrights belong to them. 

My response to 'The World Hit Record Temps in 2023..' in The Tyee

Here's my reaction --orig. meant as a Comment-- to this piece by Gordon McLean of The Conversation:  https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/01/16/World-Hit-Record-Temps-2023/

Another ill-timed waste of an oppor'ty to inform/update us on the biggest issue worrying 80%+ of Cdns (& growing) -- bereft of real-life specifics to help us "proactively advance climate resilience" -- whatever that means..

& that's half the problem: Science's refusal to DEFINE Cause/ Effect & Problem/ Solution has left this crisis open to interpretation -- by the very industries most responsible & with the heaviest footprints (whose lobbyists ensure THEIR profiteering 'needs' are met -- in regular mtgs with our spineless govt reps!) 

I.E. That atmospheric levels of C02 & methane "have continued to increase & hit record levels in 2023" means ZIP to most people without specifying exactly HOW they've increased & WHO/WHAT is responsible!!?

Eg. Logging old-growth forests releases all their stored carbon, adding to cumulative emissions (yet is exempt from req'd official GHG reports!?); LNG emits methane gas @ every stage, all up & down production -- yet BC's govt calls this fracked-gas fossil fuel "sustainable" & keeps approving new LNG builds here!!?

(Though this past month alone I've had to tell 2 peops -- 1 a regular MSM consumer -- WHAT 'LNG' EVEN iS!)

It's quite obvious govts & MSM COUNT ON -- if not further -- such widespread public ignorance.  That's just corrupt.. & DISHONEST!

Here's proof:  our govts are spending more $$ to convince Cdns they're tackling these issues -- via pricey TV ads -- than on actually tackling them, thereby making a mockery of indiv'l efforts while guaranteeing more fires, floods & other human-wrought ('Climate') disasters.

Worse, in defiance of urgent IPCC warnings to reduce GHGs & wean off fossil fuels, AB's govt alone has BANNED RENEWABLES -- & the feds persist in flogging (non-existent) 'Carbon Capture' tech as Canada's (non-)solution!!?

HOW can we be motivated to protect our --& our kids' -- thriving future hanging on a thin thread of carbon-sinking ecosystems exploited to extinction by irresponsible corps that refuse to change (along with their corrupted govt. 'secret supporters')? 

And do those of us who ARE still motivated (the numbers of which are growing daily) -- not by flimsy articles like yours but because we can't undo what we've seen 1sthand -- even stand a chance in the face of so much corruption??

NB. It must be noted:  the SOLE Cdn. political entity that refuses to be bought out wholesale by ecocidal Big-Industry corps, the ONLY honest ones who stay true to their clean mission, are the GREENS -- federal AND provincial.

Please:  let that sink in.