CBC Radio is turning their eyes, and microphones, on Kitimat for an upcoming special broadcast.
The public broadcaster is sending two of their reporters into Kitimat on a road-trip assignment, to figure out exactly what’s going on in this town, in a feature called Hype or Hope on Daybreak North.
“Kitimat is at an interesting point in time,” said the CBC’s Leisha Grebinski, who’ll be in Kitimat with colleague Rebecca Zandbergen. “There’s a lot of speculation over development.”
There’s optimism in town, she said, but questions remain like how feasible LNG terminals are, and the impact to the rest of the province.
“A lot is riding on exporting LNG from the North Coast,” she said. “There’s a lot of hope this is going to bring in a lot of money for the province but there’s always a downside.”
She said that Kitimat as a community is a place many people don’t quite know a lot about.
“Kitimat’s getting a ton of attention,” she said. “It’s at the centre of a really big conversation.”
The interest applies to the whole province, including to people in the Northeast where natural gas is produced, to organizations like CN Rail which might have impacts from development.
But it’s not just about LNG, but will include the modernization project and the Enbridge Northern Gateway proposal.
They’ll be broadcasting their Kitimat-based show from the Constant Cravings coffee shop on Friday, at 6 a.m.