The Nisga’a Lisims Government is working on a real estate deal with the provincial government which would see it purchase approximately 22,000 hectares of provincial crown land on the north coast.
Once concluded, the deal would enlarge the Nisga’a treaty land base by approximately 10 per cent and, crucially, give the Nisga’a the ability to attract large-scale industrial development, particularly floating or on-land liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants.
The area in question is the Nasoga Gulf, outside of the Nisga’a treaty lands but within the area where, through provisions of the 2000 Nisga’a Final Agreement, the Nisga’a have an influence on how it might be used.
The Nasoga Gulf area is a critical location for northwestern B.C. industrial development because two planned natural gas pipelines would run there from northeastern B.C.
Both would then turn south underwater to resurface at two planned LNG plants near Prince Rupert.
But by having a large land base in the Nasoga Gulf area, the Nisga’a stress the geographical advantage of having a LNG plant in the Nasoga Gulf area.
That’s because pipelines would be shorter and subsequently less expensive to build when compared to having them run south to the Prince Rupert area, Nisga’a promotional material states.