VICTORIA – New Democrat leader John Horgan issued the following statement in response to the release of the Project Development Agreement for the Pacific Northwest LNG project:

“New Democrats want to see an LNG industry develop in B.C., but the deal we saw revealed today looks like a good deal for Petronas and the other foreign multi-national corporations involved, not for British Columbians.

“It looks like Premier Christy Clark is prepared to sell out British Columbians in order to get a deal signed on her political timeline before the next election.

“The agreement includes pages and pages of protections for the companies involved, but locks us in to low tax and royalty rates for 25 years. In return, Premier Clark required zero job or training guarantees, or even local sourcing of products and services during construction to help grow our economy.

“British Columbians value our resources and our environment. They expect government to protect the environment, negotiate a fair return for our resources and for future generations, and fight for jobs for British Columbians. They also expect to see First Nations included as partners. At first glance, it doesn’t seem this deal achieves any of that.

“New Democrats will be examining the deal closely and fighting to ensure British Columbians aren’t left behind by Premier Clark.”