Industry was once the backbone of the Squamish economy. It may soon be again.
Approximately $2.5 billion in developments are planned for the Howe Sound region, in a variety of industries that local politicians are hoping will bring jobs and boost the economy.
“We saw a spike in growth before the Olympics, lots of money was made lots of excitement, but anytime you have a boom you always have a bust,” said Patricia Heintzman, a Squamish councillor.
“People are concerned about creating a growth rate that’s sustainable.”
Among the projects being considered are a $50 million gravel mine at McNab Creek and a $500 million waste garbage incinerator at Port Melon on Squamish Nation land.
The largest is a $1.7 billion liquefied natural gas export plant planned for Squamish by Woodfibre LNG.
All of these projects have yet to be approved by the government and would be years away from fruition. But it has Heintzman excited.
“We have zero industrial taxation base and zero industrial jobs,” she said last year. last year.
“With LNG there’s going to be a lot of training and different parts…and we’re hoping we’ll get some of that.”
Ruth Simons, the executive director of Future of Howe Sound Society, says she isn’t against the projects, but wants to see studies done in the total impact the projects would have.
“We’re finding no one that doesn’t agree that there is a need to take a step back and get a better picture of what is going on in Howe Sound as a whole,” she told Business in Vancouver.
“It just keeps growing, this thing. The sentiment is most people are shocked that there is this much industrial development all at once.”
This isn’t the first time in recent years people have looked to the Howe Sounds for a big business opportunity. A $5.5 billion ski resort 15 kilometres north of Squamish has been proposed for years, but environmental concerns and community skepticism has delayed the project.
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