Energy giant rains on B.C. throne speech

WATCH ABOVE: As expected, Christy Clark’s vision for economic prosperity laid out in the throne speech leans heavily on liquefied natural gas. The premier believes the resource will keep the money rolling in for decades to come. But one of the big players in LNG — a company that has already threatened to pull out of the province — issued another warning that put a damper on the Liberals’ party. Keith Baldrey reports.

VICTORIA – The liquefied natural gas industry has been sold as a generational opportunity for British Columbia to thrive and wipe out its debt, but now the Liberal government says there’s no guaranteed windfall.

In a speech from the throne on Monday, Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon said that LNG industry is an opportunity that represents a turning point for B.C., but success requires hard work.

“If we choose to do nothing, to maintain the status quo, we will have chosen decline,” said Guichon.

The LNG-dominated speech comes just hours after news broke that Malaysian energy giant Petronas threatened to pull out of its multibillion-dollar investment in B.C. unless the deal became more economically viable.

The Petronas announcement, which the government has been downplaying as a negotiating tactic, comes on the same day the Liberals were preparing to trumpet LNG as the opportunity the province must be willing to seize to achieve economic strength.

But it comes with a caveat.

“This is a chance — not a windfall,” Guichon said. “It will not be simply given to us, but achieved after a lot of hard work. We have an opportunity to leave our children and their children an inheritance worthy of them.”

Guichon said the government will use this fall’s legislative session to move ahead with its framework to ensure the LNG industry benefits the owners of the resource — the people of British Columbia.

She said coming LNG legislation will include environmental protection regulations that will lead the fight against global warming.