Shaping the Peace, a new Resource Works report, is raising awareness about the contribution of Northeast BC to the rest of the province.
According to Stewart Muir, President and CEO of the Resource Works Society, the Peace Region continues to be one of the biggest economic engines of the province.
“Northeast BC has an outsized impact on the whole province, and everyone benefits. Unfortunately, it’s often out of public sight,” he said.
Although it makes up only one percent of BC’s population, the Northeast produces 93 percent of BC’s natural gas, a resource British Columbians use daily. Nationally, about a third of Canada’s gas supply comes from the Peace Region.
The region generates over 30 percent of the province’s hydroelectric power through the W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon dams. With the recent completion of the Site C dam, that percentage will rise even further.
The contribution also extends to the agriculture and forestry industries. The Peace Region produces 75 percent of BC’s grain and 98 percent of its canola. In 2019, the region accounted for at least 9 percent of the province’s total exports.
Muir said Northeast BC was a key contributor to the highest infrastructure investment plans in BC’s history this year, particularly in mining and oil and gas. He explained that a huge portion of this investment is tied to LNG, which creates jobs all across the province.
Shaping the Peace highlights a disconnect between the province policies under CleanBC and the realities of the natural gas industry. CleanBC aims to cut greenhouse emissions 40 percent below 2007 levels by 2030, using measures like emissions caps, carbon pricing, methane reductions, electrification of industry, and investments in clean energy and transportation.
“We discovered there are many factors about the industry that weren’t being fully considered about the progress made,” Muir said.
He noted that industry has combined efforts with regulators and First Nations to address these issues and stressed the importance of adapting policies to the real world.
The report includes many voices from community members across the Peace Region. Muir said he senses frustration about the level of community development in area.
He explained that northeast communities support the lifestyle of larger centres, such as Vancouver, but receive less than they give, and it’s affecting their quality of life.
“When people know their contribution is so outsized but they’re not seeing the benefits flow, the subject never fails to come up, and these communities need to advocate for themselves,” he said.
Muir added the report gives northeast communities a stronger voice and allows them to be recognized as the backbone of the province’s economy.
Muir noted that with current global insecurities, it’s important to appreciate and support the natural resource sector in BC. He said now more than ever, larger cities are realizing the need for being self-sufficient, and that begins in the Peace Region.
-Noah Abel