Mr. Cannings, over to you.
Evidence of meeting #15 for Natural Resources in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sir.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #15 for Natural Resources in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sir.
A recording is available from Parliament.
June 6th, 2016 / 4 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
Thank you, Mr. Yu, for coming all this way.
You talked about how one of your group's reasons for being is to create a social licence for LNG. You also mentioned climate change, and that Canada really should abandon its commitments to Paris over climate change. I wonder how that might help you get the social licence needed for these projects.
4:05 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
The only reason I mentioned that, and it's my personal opinion, is that by meeting our commitment to Paris, and considering this study that said that we have to cut emissions from the rest, maybe motorists and other industries in Canada, by 47%, I cannot see this happening without our economy suffering, sir.
In terms of our social licence, I'm at a loss for words.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
I'm wondering how you create social licence by simply concentrating on the economic benefits of this project to Fort St. John or those areas, and not—
4:05 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
We also see this project as cleaning up elsewhere. That's why one of the things I'm asking of the Canadian government is to consider climate change and the global greenhouse gases not just in Canada, but also with the savings overseas.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
When you were studying up on LNG, did you come across a study from the National Energy Technical Laboratory in the United States on the comparison between burning coal in China and exporting LNG from Canada or the United States to China and then burning it there? Are you aware of that study?
4:05 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
Not that particular study, sir, but we know for a fact that by generating the same amount of electricity using coal and generating the same amount of electricity using natural gas, the greenhouse gas emission is more than 50%.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
The only problem with this is that natural gas, of course, is largely methane, which is the most potent greenhouse gas we know and there's a lot of leakage of methane in that whole export process. There's especially a lot of methane leakage when you're using unconventional methods, fracking, to extract the natural gas.
When you take all of that into account, this study shows there's a good possibility that the greenhouse gas impact on an LNG export business from Canada to China will actually make things worse.
4:05 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
Not really, sir, because we are burning methane. We are not releasing it into the ground. There will be some leakage, but you are leaking profits; you are leaking products that you are going to sell, and it is in the interest of any business to limit that.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
4:05 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
Yes, sir. I agree with that, but we should also agree with business that if you are selling Coke you do not spill it, sir.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
No, I fully...and we've heard testimony on how companies are trying to do things better, but there's a lot that you just can't help but do.
4:05 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
Yes, sir. There will be leakage, but it should be managed.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
I just have to ask you about your quote about well-funded environmentalists.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
I don't call myself an environmentalist; I'm an ecologist, but I know people in that movement and most of them are anything but well funded.
I would ask you back how well funded Progress Energy, or Petronas, or Pacific NorthWest are and where their funds are coming from.
4:05 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
We are speaking about our groups, which are pro-hydrocarbon groups, and the groups that are against hydrocarbons and how out-financed we are.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
They see themselves up against a Goliath as well.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
Okay.
You mentioned the first nations. The Progress Energy project would be situated on Lelu Island.
4:05 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
I was just wondered how the Lax Kw'alaams feel about that project.
4:10 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
The Lax Kw'alaams have sent a letter of support to CEAA, and I think on June 2, sir, there was a nation-to-nation conference participated in by first nations and Christy Clark. In that conference they said publicly that 90% of the first nations in the area are in support of LNG.
The particular tribes, the particular first nations, that you mentioned have sent a letter to the CEAA, which is floating around, sir.
4:10 p.m.
Founder and Chairman, Fort St. John for LNG
There are some of them, but the official release of the tribe is that they are in support, sir.
They are even trying to evict the few who are in Lelu Island and these are their fellow tribes people who are evicting them, sir. It's not the local government; it's not the Government of Canada, but their fellow tribes people who are trying to get them out of the area, sir.