West Coast Olefins Pineview proposal shut down

PINEVIEW- The Regional District of Fraser Fort George Directors decided on the future of the proposed West Coast Olefins $1.5 billion Natural Gas Extraction Plant near Pineview this afternoon. It will not be moving forward to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), which means the proposal has been rejected.

Five directors voted in favour of the project moving ahead to the ALC, Directors Warren Wilson, Allan Frederick, Lyn Hall, Kyle Sampson and Terri McConnachie. Nine directors voted against the project, Bill Empey, Joan Atkinson, Dannielle Alan, Lara Beckett, Kevin Dunphy, Owen Torgerson, Murry Krause, Art Kaehn and Director Terry Burgess, who was standing in for Pat Crook.

Director Empey was strongly against the project moving forward, claiming it would affect the lifestyle of Pineview residents, and decrease their land value. He also referred to the Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan’s very public disapproval of the project.

Meanwhile, Directors Hall, Sampson and McConnachie explained that their vote didn’t necessarily mean they were in favour of the project. The three claimed that their votes were just in support of additional public consultation before making a final decision.