It wasn’t an easy decision for the Squamish First Nation to approve the $1.6 billion Woodfibre LNG proposal, according to a spokesman, but it came with potential benefits amounting to $1.1 billion in land and cash.
The Squamish First Nation council approved three economic benefit agreements last week — one each with Woodfibre, FortisBC and the province, but “contingent on the environmental conditions being met, according to a news release issued Thursday.
Qualified with the term “if the project is built,” it talks about 40-year deals that include cash payments totalling $225.65 million, 1,600 short-term and 330 long-term jobs, business opportunities and land transfers of 422 hectares.
“Communities are sometimes faced with difficult decisions and it is recognized that this was a difficult decision for many,” Squamish Coun. Khelsilem, whose English name is Dustin Rivers, said in the news release.
Derrick Penner – Vancouver Sun – November 30, 2018.
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