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Northern
www.northernsentinel.com
Volume 61 No. 45
Zoning plan stirs debate Cameron Orr The zoning plan for a portion of land in the vicinity of LNG Canada’s property has stirred debate with one councillor concerned over a loss of land planned for ‘parks and recreation’. The conversation effectively boiled down to one of what kind of tangible loss is it to lose over 70 hectares of land designated as parks and recreation in the Official Community Plan, which is a separate entity versus how land is sometimes actually zoned in the community. Councillor Rob Goffinet was concerned that while there is a trade off on land zoned as environmentally sensitive around the planned LNG Canada facility (the town would get an increase of three hectares once it all passes), there was no trade off made for the parks and rec. LNG Canada has pursued this application to unify the zoning around their planned facility. Director of Community Planning and Development Gwen Sewell notes that most of the undeveloped land in Kitimat, that’s not otherwise Crown land, is parks and recreation, as per the Official Community Plan. Under this proposal more than 70 hectares would be shuffled in to an Industrial land plan, which is a marginal percentage for the whole town. Even with the concern expressed by Goffinet, the remainder of council endorsed the application moving forward to third reading. The Kitimat Valley Naturalists and Douglas Channel Watch, among others, were invited to provide comment and while the groups had some questions they appeared comfortable with the responses they had received from the company regarding environmental and animal concerns.
Meet Arlo, the KCH dog.
/page 6 Two generations of Canadian Forces.
/page 7 PM477761
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
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All hail the chief Six year old Jessica Meyer of Kildala Elementary was this year’s selection for the Fire Chief for a Day, which bestows the privilege of leading Kitimat’s Fire Department for the morning of November 6. She’s posed here with some of her employees at the fire station, as well as Mayor Phil Germuth.
AltaGas has duty fee issue on planned Kitimat project Rod Link A Calgary-based energy company expects to find out this month if it will be successful in appealing a decision by the federal government to impose a $100 million customs duty on a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at Kitimat. The appeal was filed by AltaGas, a Canadian partner in the Douglas Channel LNG project which would feature an LNG plant affixed to a floating platform to be built in Asia and ferried to Kitimat. Because the federal Canada Border Services Agency is classifying the platform as a ship, it’s subjecting the bargeshaped platform to a 25 per cent duty fee. AltaGas vice president John Lowe, in speaking to analysts during a conference call held to discuss the company’s latest earnings, said it takes the opposite view. “The floating unit is incapable of navigation, it has no self-propulsion and
it’s going to be moored permanently,” he said. And the equipment on the platform should not be subject to any duty which is the case for all equipment that liquefies air or gases”, Lowe said. AltaGas and other members of the Douglas Channel consortium have been working making a final investment decision on the $600 million project by the end of the year and appeal of the $100 million duty is necessary to make that decision, Lowe mentioned. He noted that the Douglas Channel LNG project is not the only proposal involving a floating platform. “We feel that on a policy basis it’s not in Canada’s interest to impose this sort of a barrier to these developments, particularly when there really aren’t any shipyards in Canada that would be able to undertake this sort of a project,” said Lowe. NDP MP Nathan Cullen says he’ll
be contacting AltaGas to find out more about the $100 million federal customs bill. While Cullen acknowledged that the 25 per cent duty is meant to protect and encourage Canadian shipbuilders, he noted the importance of the project to the area. “This is a situation where the company is doing the right thing,” said Cullen. “It has the support and the approval of the local First Nations.” “I certainly feel AltaGas deserves a fair hearing.” Cullen did wonder if the duty was an item AltaGas knew about in the planning of the project or whether it was something just recently sprung by federal customs officials. In the meantime, provincial natural gas development minister Rich Coleman says he’s talking to the federal government about a duty remission. Continued on page 13