As the provincial election draws nearer, Green candidate in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky Jeremy Valeriote is positioning himself as representing the only party that doesn’t believe the Woodfibre LNG project near Squamish is a done deal.
Straight after Jen Ford was acclaimed as the NDP candidate for the riding, Valeriote’s campaign highlighted his position, and said in a release he looked forward to discussing the BC NDP’s support for Woodfibre LNG in the coming campaign.
“Their positions put them at odds with the prevailing wishes of the people who live and work in the Sea to Sky corridor and Howe Sound,” reads Valeriote’s words in a release from May 22.
“Investing in the new green economy should be a priority over misguided investments in polluting fossil-fuel projects that will soon be obsolete as the energy transition gains even more momentum.”
Speaking with Pique in the days after, when asked about his positioning on the issue, Valeriote was more tempered, and hedged his statement.
“I don’t know for sure the positions of the other candidates, but based on the party records and what's gone on to date since the 2020 election when I was the only candidate opposing it … I’ll be more than happy if there are other candidates that like me don’t think it's a good idea, but that remains to be seen,” he said.
Asked for her position on the project, Ford talked up the BC NDP’s environmental regulations it placed on the BC Liberal-approved project.
“While the BC Liberals approved this project and construction is already underway, David Eby and the BC NDP took action to mitigate impacts on the community,” she said in an email to Pique, highlighting environmental and housing requirements the government imposed since it came to power that she said were focused on concerns on local housing and community safety.
“This was the first time that the Environmental Assessment Office introduced this kind of requirement, and like many people in our region, I was glad that the EAO implemented it.”
Ford and Valeriote are the only two candidates currently in the field for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.
But back to Valeriote, on Woodfibre, he was steadfast in his position and adamant the project was not a “done deal,” despite ongoing works.
“As far as I understand, it’s still in pre-construction. It was permitted in 2015, and went dormant for quite a number of years likely until the Ukraine war spiked gas prices, so there is work being done on it. There is still permitting to go," he said.
“I don’t believe that it’s a done deal or a fait accompli.”
Valeriote has form on the subject—he fought against it back in 2020 when he was the green candidate in that election, too. As he is claiming for 2024, in 2020 he was the only candidate of the then three (Green, NDP, Liberal) that said it could be reversed.
Valeriote said that besides global markets, the environmental case against the project is stronger than before.
“A government could come in and say they’ve now decided based on scientific climate evidence that this is no longer a responsible thing to allow in this province, and we should be spending our public subsidies on renewable energy,” he said.
Given the political landscape provincially, polling suggests the incumbent NDP government is in a strong position to form government again—even four months out from the election. However, Valeriote came close to winning West Vancouver-Sea to Sky in 2020, and he’s confident he can get over the line in 2024 as the BC United incumbent and the man who won the riding by 60 votes last time around, Jordan Sturdy, bows out.
All that to say, there’s a chance Valeriote would be a Green MLA on the crossbench among a wash of NDP politicians.
“As the MLA, what I could do is represent the values of the community and say there’s a majority of people that don’t think this is the right way to go, that don’t think this is a responsible investment, and in a time of crisis,” he said.
“That gets noticed.”
While the project is touted by its proponents as good for jobs, good for the local economy and Canada at large, Valeriote said he was confident the majority of Squamish is against it.
“From what I have heard, I believe there is a majority [against] in Squamish and the rest of the corridor," he said. "It has impacts and none of the benefits.”
Valeriote argued the local community was clear that fossil fuel was not a sector they wanted to develop as per the district’s economic development plan.
A spokesperson for WLNG rejected Valeriote’s assertion the project had any question marks over it.
“The Woodfibre LNG project has been approved by federal, provincial and Squamish Nation governments and is under construction,” they said to Pique in an email.
“Projects undertake ongoing scope-specific permitting work over the course of construction, but all major authorizations for the project are in place. There is no question about whether the project will proceed or not—work is underway, and many local people and businesses are benefiting from Woodfibre LNG construction.”
The proponents highlighted the project’s commitment to being the world’s first net-zero LNG facility when completed in 2027, and took aim at the District of Squamish for dragging its feet on the temporary use permit for worker housing on a floating hotel nearby.
“It's important to recognize that the District Council's opinion on the floatel and the community's opinion may not be the same,” they said.
“Woodfibre LNG engaged with the District and community over a period of years and received clear and repeated feedback asking that the project workforce be housed outside the community to avoid pressures on housing and community services,” they said, before citing a recent poll by the Squamish Chief that showed area residents disagreed with the municipality’s indecision.
The question of the floatel will continue to linger with the District of Squamish in the medium-term, with the initial rejection revisited, and then referred back to staff for more information on a timeline that remains unclear.
Valeriote said efforts to slow the floatel—whether in the community or on the municipal level—were a sign of the simmering opposition in the wider community to the overall project.
“If people had felt properly consulted on worker accommodation they would not be so much opposed to the solution that’s essentially been imposed on the district," he said. "I think when people are opposed to something, they’ll take every opportunity they can to be heard.”
The provincial election will take place on or before Oct. 19.
*Correction: A previous version of this story said Jordan Sturdy won West Vancouver-Sea to Sky by 70 votes in 2020, when he won by 60 votes. The story is changed to reflect that result.
