Uncertainty has reigned supreme in British Columbia after the Oct. 19 provincial election. No clear winner was left, and it looked likely that there would be an NDP government backed by the Green Party’s two remaining MLAs.

For B.C.'s natural resource sector, this is the worst possible result.

An NDP minority government supported by the Greens will bring a significant ideological shift to the government’s approach to the natural resource sector. Further environmental regulations, whether justified or not, will slow the entire sector’s movement and bring about the termination of ongoing projects, such as new LNG facilities on the coast.

One of the Greens’ two MLAs is Jeremy Valeriote, elected in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, who is the first Green MLA from the B.C. mainland. Valeriote is an outspoken opponent of Woodfibre LNG, a $5.1-billion project being developed near Squamish that is deeply opposed by local environmental non-governmental organizations.

Although Woodfibre LNG has received both provincial and federal approvals since 2015, some local opposition groups have tried to stymie its progress, while others in the Squamish area support it.

Valeriote’s successful campaign in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky had the support of anti-Woodfibre........

© BIV