00:04:47.640But the point is, none of them are, I would say, well-placed to speak on some of these things.
00:04:54.480But even if they are, they're creating fear that ignores the work that's being done out there by people who live in the places where those risks exist and would be affected by them.
00:05:10.940So I wanted to call attention to this because there are other LNG projects that are being proposed, including the phase two of LNG Canada's big project, which would also lead to an expansion in what's sent through the coastal gas link pipeline.
00:05:28.220And there's the Solisim's LNG project. There's wood fiber LNG under construction. People in Alberta are talking about building a new oil pipeline. All of these things become kind of reasons for new activism. That's what we've seen in the past.
00:05:45.580And I think it's important for Canadians to know that, you know, work has been done to understand the safety of these facilities and that the people who live in the place who were involved in building these projects and who were consulted on these projects, they have benefited significantly from these projects going ahead in ways that wouldn't have been possible if they hadn't been built.
00:06:11.060So, okay, so what we've got then is we've got a very successful build, not without its controversy at the time, not done without some, well, I think we made reference to them earlier, the damage done to equipment, people climbing up trees and trying to block progress and so on.
00:06:28.480But finally, we've got the Canada Gas Link complete, and it is feeding a lot of gas.
00:06:35.560How much gas into a terminal on the coast daily?
00:08:27.680Well, right now it's flaring more than it should because it's in a commissioning phase.
00:08:31.940But that has been completely disclosed publicly. It's been monitored by the B.C. government.
00:08:36.780And as I said, the mayor of the Kitimat Regional District himself came out and talked about how this airshed is very well monitored.
00:08:47.080They've had industrial activity from companies like Rio Tinto for many decades.
00:08:51.940And he's like, there is nothing abnormal going on here.
00:08:56.460And I should point out that this group doesn't like natural gas stoves and had a campaign related to that a few years ago.
00:09:05.380So it's not necessarily about the current campaign is about this specific issue of flaring, but it is connected to a much broader effort against the use of natural gas, its connection to buildings, its use in heating.
00:09:19.940This group and many others who are allied with them, and they do work with lots of other groups, they just don't want people to use this anymore.
00:09:27.920So I understand that the actual cause of the excess flaring is a broken piece of equipment that is being replaced.
00:09:35.380I haven't heard about this, but what I do know is that when you're commissioning a new facility, it causes, there's going to be more flaring than usual.
00:09:46.960There will be unusual issues because you're getting your system to run the way it was designed to run, and there are always things to work through.
00:10:24.920And how many people are taking their children into the hospital complaining of the ill effects of smelling too much of natural gases that you can't even smell?
00:10:39.960So there's a certain amount of, there is something that is not according to specs.
00:10:48.100But it sounds, and I can't say this, but maybe you can.
00:10:52.060It sounds that this group of motivated greenish physicians has taken something that's quite modest and turned it in, trying to turn it into a big deal and frighten people.
00:11:05.040Well, what they have done specifically is help advance resolutions in different municipalities in that region.
00:11:11.580Part of it calls for an independent study of health effects, which, fair enough, and some of them voted to do that.
00:11:18.840And part of it calls to remove all support for these kinds of industrial activities and for LNG in particular in that region, which was either rejected by the communities in the region or never got put forward, ultimately.
00:11:37.000And so I think there are things going on.
00:15:15.800Well, I think the first thing is that when people think,
00:15:18.960oh, you know, if this project gets cancelled in Quebec, let's say if we talked about LNG
00:15:24.660Segnet, or if this, you know, thing takes a really long time. If we talk about, you know,
00:15:31.160the very long period of time it took to get LNG Canada from the first idea to being shipping gas,
00:15:38.460we think there are no consequences. But there are consequences. When Canada becomes a place where
00:15:43.200projects get cancelled, where construction sites get attacked. People think twice about
00:15:50.980investing their money here. LNG Canada has five international partners who invested in making the
00:15:57.300project happen. I'm very grateful to them because the things that Canada needs to build, whether
00:16:02.860it's pipelines or LNG facilities or nuclear facilities or mines, we need foreign direct
00:16:09.740investment we need capital from other countries and the things that have happened in canada in
00:16:15.020the last decade have scared away investment and now we have a major projects office and now we're
00:16:20.220really trying to show that things can happen and we are a a politically reliable place to do business
00:16:26.700but we are working against the experience people have had the things they have seen like that
00:16:32.060attack on the construction site like the rail blockades um and and we have to say no don't
00:16:38.940worry that won't happen again and uh so i think the success story is important i think new policy
00:16:46.700has been important and i think canadians need to know um what they're fighting for and they're
00:16:52.460fighting so that community and they're they're fighting and by fighting i mean supporting the
00:16:57.500growth of our economy and these projects because at street level in communities in households
00:17:05.420people can have a better life a higher income afford their groceries and that's the only way
00:17:10.620to do it that's how you raise standards of living so whatever is true of natural gas pipelines
00:17:18.220which are generally considered to be better than oil pipelines right is nevertheless true of oil
00:17:26.620pipelines that is that is correct that is correct so that right now both mr carney the prime minister
00:17:34.300and danielle smith the premier have high hopes of announcing that a pipeline will be built right
00:17:42.220but it will be for oil yeah so in addition to noxious fumes coming out of a stack
00:17:51.660do you anticipate there's going to be a campaign against an oil pipeline as well i'm sure it'll be
00:17:58.700you know a campaign i'm sure there'll be a lawsuit there'll be all kinds of stuff
00:18:02.300thrown at this thing as there has been against every project that we've seen in the last few
00:18:07.500years. I think what's important is that the public is able to discern, okay, what's a real concern
00:18:14.620here or what's just a campaign? And having a report like When Our Nation Builds that really
00:18:21.660looks at the local benefits and also projections of what we could get if we keep going with these
00:18:26.940projects, which includes greater improvements in household incomes, et cetera, can give us the
00:18:32.920confidence to resist getting, kind of putting the brakes on things because of some of these
00:18:39.740campaigns. And I think it's especially important for First Nations to see what nations like Haisla
00:18:45.720and what, you know, the Gitsan and five others who have just done, what the nations, the upstream,
00:18:53.340who are now major participants what they've been able to do by saying yes even though it's not easy
00:18:58.800to work through details saying yes and being part of the success of these things has created real
00:19:04.500benefits and and and it's worth it and they don't need to necessarily buy into Leonardo DiCaprio
00:19:13.060for lying into their community and saying hey this is bad they know for themselves their own
00:19:18.120experience. They know the facts of other communities' experience. And so we should
00:19:23.400take advantage of starting from this place that is benefiting from the courage of the companies
00:19:28.360and the First Nations and the workers who pushed through and got these projects to happen.
00:19:33.720Two questions then as we wrap up. The first is what has been the response of communities'
00:19:41.320councils in the area to the kind of arguments that have been advanced by this group of physicians?
00:19:50.200Well, I think that the communities in the area have said, okay, well, we care about health,
00:19:55.160let's do a study. But we support this industry. They've been clear they support this industry
00:20:02.280and have not advanced kind of the shut down the industry, pushbacking it's the industry thing. But
00:20:07.960But there are other communities in that region who, you know, haven't weighed in or we haven't seen publicly how they feel about some of what they've heard in the course of this campaign.
00:20:19.000And I think it's just important for us to know that those of us who care about these things have to be out there as well with the facts and information that can bring balance to the scare tactics that some groups might use.
00:20:37.980Well, you certainly are. And you are doing that, and that's great. But if you're a council member representing a community which is benefiting from this thing, I find it rather strange that you wouldn't be out there saying these guys are just a title to their opinion, but we don't share it, and we're going ahead.
00:20:57.200Sometimes they are. And as I said, the mayor...
00:21:01.960Yes, but I think that the reporters don't always go all the way to Kitimat or to Smithers to ask people there what they think about these things, you know.
00:21:11.900And so they don't always have the same visibility that some of those on the other side have.
00:21:17.480And I think, too, you know, I'd call on all the journalists and all the people who decide their budgets, make the trip out.