Texada wants say on plant

Pat Parsley
Gillies Bay
Powell River Peak
23-Aug-2007

Bravo to Chuck Childress's letter to the editor ["Texada needs a say on plant," August 8]. I, too, am a Texada Island resident who was shocked to hear of the recent announcement regarding the LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant. No one I know on Texada was consulted and if someone was consulted, they should share their information with the rest of the community.

I have numerous concerns regarding the safety of such a facility, not to mention the effect a heavy volume of tanker traffic will have on the ecology of the Strait of Georgia. I am certain that residents of Hornby, Denman and Vancouver islands will have much to say about the view they would have when looking across the strait at the facility.

The promise of 80 jobs is not impressive considering that the jobs will not necessarily be given to local residents. Even if they were, is WestPac LNG Corporation promising long-term employment?

WestPac's statement that Texada Island is already an industrial island worries me the most. Does this mean that Texada is up for grabs for large corporations?

I would really be interested to know who provided the positive feedback regarding this proposal, as I have yet to hear from anyone on our island who was consulted. Please speak up whoever you are and share with your fellow residents. I agree with Childress regarding his suggestion for a referendum. Let us have all the facts and allow us to have a voice in decisions being made about our island and our lifestyle.

©The Powell River Peak 2007