Less than 75 people have stopped a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and export facility on Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) land in south Delta.
In a December 17 vote, 74 members opposed the concept, representing 53 per cent of votes cast, while 65, or 46 per cent, supported the proposal.
According to a TFN news release, the proposed $3 billion project would have created 1,000 jobs during construction, and 50-100 permanent jobs once operational.
Prior to the vote, a TFN member leaked a fact sheet outlining what each TFN member would receive if the facility was approved: roughly $5,000 per year for up to three years while the facility was being built and $15,000 per year once operational, according to documents handed to the Delta Optimist.
The TFN leadership and FortisBC had proposed to build the LNG plant on 80 acres of Tsawwassen band lands.
Of the 370 members of the TFN, about 170 don’t live on the Tsawwassen lands. In all, less than half of the band members voted on the LNG issue.
