As British Columbia kicked off Fuelling the Future: Global Opportunities for LNG in BC, Canada’s first international conference focused on liquefied natural gas, Adrian Dix and the NDP continues to stonewall the public on their liquefied natural gas position.

“While Adrian Dix refuses to tell British Columbians his plans, George Heyman has shown us a glimpse into the party’s secret plans for B.C.’s energy industry,” says Bill Bennett, MLA for Kootenay East.  “What Mr. Dix is afraid to tell the public is that the NDP really stands for the No Development Party.”

While Adrian Dix pretends to support our natural gas opportunity, George Heyman and caucus members are all over the map.  They have called for everything from an all-out ban or moratorium to lengthy reviews of the critical components necessary for British Columbia to take advance of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“The public can have no confidence the NDP comprehend the opportunity or what a forward-thinking government must do to ensure British Columbians realize the jobs, investments and public benefits from meeting this challenge,” says Bennett.

By contrast, Premier Christy Clark and the BC Liberal Government have laid out a bold vision for the future. Exporting our surplus natural gas to Asia will create an estimated 39,000 new full-time jobs during the construction period, and 75,000 new annual full-time jobs and over $1 trillion in additional economic activity in B.C., once LNG plants will be in full operation. The creation of the B.C. Prosperity Fund will ensure that all British Columbians benefit from this incredible opportunity for generations to come.

“While the NDP believes this is all a ‘fantasy,’ we are committed to ensuring British Columbia acts and delivers on the opportunity before us. We’ve been clear, people know where we stand: we want to grow the economy and ensure all British Columbians benefit,” added Bennett.

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Backgrounder:

The BC NDP on natural gas extraction:

• “I wouldn’t rule it [a moratorium] out if the evidence is we need to do that. But I haven’t seen that evidence yet, and that’s why we need to have a scientific assessment.” John Horgan, Vancouver Province, Oct. 21, 2012
• “I think that we need to stop fracking hold the level at where it is until we do those studies and then decide what the safe way to precede is.“ – George Heyman, Youtube, Oct. 18, 2012
• “I am proposing that we stop the expansion of new frack wells until we have an appropriate public study on the health impacts, the community impacts, the water impacts, and the climate, greenhouse-gas-emissions impact.” – George Heyman, Vancouver Sun, Oct. 22, 2012