With British Columbia Premier David Eby currently on a trade mission to Asia and Prime Minister Mark Carney looking to establish an east-west energy corridor, Prince George Mayor Simon Yu has hopes that his city will be part of the provincial and federal government’s plans to diversify the Canadian economy.
Speaking to The Citizen by phone on Wednesday, June 4, Yu said it was great to see the premier head to Asia to visit some of the province’s biggest customers.
On Eby’s itinerary are visits to Japan, South Korea and Malaysia.
Yu pointed out that Malaysia is home to Petronas, which has a significant stake in the LNG Canada export terminal in Kitimat, and nearby Cedar LNG could be looking to expand.
“Any trip by the premier to Asia to promote our region I always view as a good thing,” Yu said, adding that it would have been important for Eby to consult with First Nations, industry leaders and municipal leaders before heading out to make sure his time abroad is well spent.
“We are looking forward to the premier perhaps re-establishing a BC trade mission in Asia in a much broader, prominent way that promotes our relationship with … all the customers there," he said.
When The Citizen spoke with Prince George’s three opposition MLAs on June 2 about the premier’s trip, they expressed dismay that the NDP had closed the province’s foreign trade officers during their eight years in government.
The mayor said he was also hoping that the premier promotes BC’s timber industry while in Asia. While the U.S. will always be one of our biggest customers despite the ongoing trade disputes with the Trump Administration, Yu said having secondary customers in Asia would help stabilize the supply chain.
Regarding First Nations involvement, British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee publicly announced he would no longer participate as planned in protest over recent infrastructure legislation passed by the province which First Nations groups have argued violates their rights.
Bill 14 is aimed at streamlining permitting for renewable energy projects and allowing selected wind energy projects as well as the North Coast Transmission Line project to bypass the Environmental Assessment Act.
Bill 15 gives the infrastructure minister, a position created after last fall’s provincial election, powers to expedite certain projects through the approvals process, automatically approve certain low-risk environmental assessments, assist entities like school districts and health authority with procurement and even bypass local governments on designated infrastructure projects.
“Any action by local, provincial or federal governments damaging our relationships with our First Nations partners, it is always concerning,” Yu said. “Looking at Bill 15, perhaps it’s the timing of the legislation, the communications strategy that perhaps was not done the way it should be done.”
However, as he said when first asked about the legislation, Yu expressed hope that Bill 15 would ultimately increase the number of shovel-ready projects given the state of global politics.
Last week, Yu was one of several Prince George representatives who attended the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ annual conference and trade show in Ottawa.
One of the speakers was Prime Minister Mark Carney, who told delegates he was looking to give municipalities an economic boost by having the federal government fund significant infrastructure projects.
Yu said he thought there was a “definite angle” to Carney’s vision of a so-called decarbonized pipeline transporting liquified natural gas, oil and hydrogen to BC’s coast being offset by carbon capture technology.
“There are multiple opportunities there,” Yu said. “If your customer’s in Asia, then definitely you go towards (Prince) Rupert, Kitimat and it’s a lot shorter distance. Of course, the key issue is lifting the moratorium on tankers and providing a safe way to get to them both. As Canadian engineers, we should be able to … provide solutions.”
He clarified that federal legislation blocking tankers from the west coast should not be lifted until safety issues are addressed, but that finding that solution could help lower the world’s carbon footprint as a whole and provide access to large populations in Asia.
Asked what else he could be interested in working with the federal government on, Yu said he’d like to see them invest in local capacity to build prefabricated housing in Prince George since the city has a rail connection to the Port of Prince Rupert.
“We’re living in interesting times,” Yu said. “Prince George is going to be a very important star city of Canada. And if Canada is going to be prosperous, BC must be prosperous and if BC is going to be prosperous, Prince George needs to lead the way. We need to seize the moment and march forward.”
