Kitimat’s new mayor: Yes to LNG, no to Northern Gateway
‘ We support industry, but not at any price. Are we willing to sacrifice our environment? No, we’re not.’
Phil Germuth, a licensed automotive technician, is the new mayor of Kitimat, a town in the crosshairs of several major energy projects.
Germuth’s take on the matter: LNG? Absolutely. Enbridge Northern Gateway? No way, unless the oil is refined in Kitimat with plenty of local jobs and all other concerns along the pipeline route are met.
Q You were elected mayor in a landslide. How does it feel?
A It’s a good feeling. It’s an exciting time to be mayor in Kitimat. Q The Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project would see Alberta bitumen shipped out from Kitimat through the Douglas Channel. What is your position on the plan?
A I am not supportive of the Northern Gateway Enbridge project because they still haven’t proven they could do it safely.
Q Would your position change if the plan included a refinery built in Kitimat?
A The concept of a refinery I totally support. But, there’s so many things we don’t know. How many jobs would be here? Would there be scrubbers, environmental controls on the refinery? I do support the refining of our natural resources, no doubt about it. A refinery would eliminate crude oil supertankers on the north coast, which is a great thing. But you still have the issue of the pipeline. If they could get the support of First Nations and the rest of the communities and address their concerns about leak protection and spills, I would absolutely be on side with that.
Q An unofficial plebiscite in April showed that the citizens of Kitimat rejected the Enbridge plan by 58 per cent to 42 per cent. Has anything changed since then?
A No, not at all. Enbridge hasn’t come back with anything new that would change anybody’s mind. Q Should Enbridge be doing more to engage Kitimat residents to garner support? A It’s not just Kitimat residents. They need to do more to get First Nations on side. They ( Enbridge) have a whole lot of people they have to talk to if they want to push that project through. How could they alleviate everybody’s concerns of having supertankers on the north coast or a pipeline spill into our watershed? I’m not sure how they would do that, but we would be willing to sit down and talk with anybody.
Q What about LNG? Do you support or oppose the proposed export facilities in Kitimat?
A I absolutely support that. If you have an LNG leak, it dissipates into the air. There’s no chance of it ruining our watershed or drinking water. There’s no chance of us darn near killing everything in the Douglas Channel even if an LNG tanker has an accident. It’s a much safer proposal and a much better idea for jobs and the environment.
Q The recent municipal elections across B. C. appeared to show that many voters don’t want industrial development at any price. Is that the way you see it?
A Kitimat was built by industry and we support industry, but not at any price. Are we willing to sacrifice our environment? No, we’re not. Kitimat is a marvel of industry and nature and there’s no reason when projects are done properly that both industry and nature can’t both work hand in hand.
Q How do you see Kitimat’s economy developing if these projects don’t proceed?
A There’s industry coming into our economic development office every day. We’re supportive of the LNG projects and hope that at least one of them follows. If that doesn’t happen, then we need to diversify. If Northern Gateway doesn’t proceed, it doesn’t really make much of a difference. There were so few jobs, so that’s not going to be a game changer. If you look at the LNG Canada- Shell project, that could mean 600 jobs, so that’s a huge one for us.
Q What did the recent municipal election in Kitimat tell you about the level of support for these projects?
A People do support industry, but we’re not willing to risk our environment for that. And that’s why I believe people like myself support LNG projects, but are not supportive of a project like the Northern Gateway.