Underlying the Haisla approval of LNG development was a collective desire to have economic opportunity, and “a share and a say” in any development.
“It was to have a share and a say in in terms of what our beautiful territory has to offer in in terms of economic development. We’re very fortunate geographically to be located at the end of the Douglas Channel, which is a deep seaport that does not freeze, so there’s a lot of opportunity. . . .
“Our community wasn’t new to industrial development. We’ve had an aluminum smelter, which still operates today. We’ve had a pulp-and-paper mill and a methanol facility. We didn’t have any participation when those industries came to our territory.”
And plant closures in the past meant job losses, schools and stores closing, and Haisla citizens leaving the area.
Then came several proposals for LNG development. “We actually took a weekend where we tried to compare apples to apples with all of these projects and tried to develop a strategy as to how we were going to be able to juggle all of these. . . . And at the end of the weekend, LNG Canada came out as the primary focus.”
The idea of the Nation’s own Cedar LNG project had been in the background. “When LNG Canada and Coastal Gas Link announced their positive final investment decision, Cedar became again a possibility.”
And a possibility that would be in alignment with Haisla values. “We were going to be conscious of an environment thinking seven generations out.”
(LNG Canada shipped its first LNG cargo to Asia on June 30 this year, and Cedar LNG began construction in 2024, with a target date of late 2028.)
And now, Smith says: “There’s a . . . lot of spin-off opportunities to our communities. It is vastly different, from when I was growing up, to what we have today in in our community. People are positive, they’re hopeful.
“Our youth are thriving. There are programs and services that that we’ve never seen before in our community.” And the Nation has begun to revitalize the Haisla culture, language, and community.
The latest Power Struggle episode, with Crystal Smith, is posted OK at https://powerstruggle.buzzsprout.com/
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