February 26, 2016 | Andrew Hudson | Haida Gwaii Observer
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice is demanding an apology after B.C. Premier Christy Clark called local LNG opponents a “rag-tag group” and “forces of ‘no’.”
“This was hardly a ‘rag-tag’ group of people,” said Rice, who recently joined several hereditary and elected First Nations leaders in signing a declaration against Pacific NorthWest LNG — an export terminal for liquefied natural gas proposed for Lelu Island.
Called the Salmon Summit, Rice said people at the meeting were concerned that tanker berths and a suspension bridge connected to the LNG plant will ruin the nearby eelgrass beds that provide habitat for juvenile salmon as they migrate from the Skeena River.
“These are informed indigenous leaders and northerners who understand the risks of industrial development to their region,” said Rice, speaking in B.C.’s legislative assembly.
“There is a glaring contradiction in the Premier’s words,” she added.
“The grassroots First Nations leadership we’re seeing on the Lelu Island issue is the same kind of leadership that made the Great Bear Rainforest deal possible.”
“The premier’s mean-spirited, divide-and-conquer tactics will never lead to the kind of collaborative solutions needed to develop northern B.C.’s economy.”