MLA Ellis Ross, Kitimat mayor Phil Germuth and LNG Canada spokesperson Susannah Pierce were invited to New York and Toronto to address roundtable discussions on how to get LNG projects off the ground in Canada.
“The general opinion out there with major investors is that Canada is a hard place to get a major project done.
“Even with the Final Investment Decision announced there are still those in the investment world that are skeptical about LNG Canada,” said Germuth. “They really wanted to know how they did it and is it really happening.”
The discussions were facilitated by Canada’s fourth-largest investment bank, National Bank Financial, and took place in New York on December 3 and in Toronto on December 4.
The participants at the discussions were particularly interested in how the project got to the finish line in light of the many projects that have been shelved in B.C.
“We gave examples of what LNG Canada did, and continues to do, related to housing, training opportunities and mitigating the project’s impact on the community,” said Germuth.
“While LNG Canada has clearly set a new standard when it comes to building relationships and getting project support, that does not guarantee that any project using their process will be supported.
“I believe that even with the same process, a diluted bitumen pipeline would not be supported. However, add a refinery to it and the conversation changes.”