Huu-ay-aht First Nations citizens made history, becoming the first British Columbia Nation to approve a co-management development arrangement for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility.
On March 25, Huu-ay-aht citizens voted 70 per cent in support for the proposed Sarita LNG Project with Steelhead LNG. The proposed LNG facility, which also received unanimous support of Huu-ay-aht's H?aw?iih? Council (Hereditary Chiefs) and elected Executive Council, could be an economic game changer for the Nation of 750 people.
The Huu-ay-aht citizen approval is particularly significant because it marks one of the earliest points in project development at which a First Nation community has voted to approve an LNG export facility or pipeline project in BC.
The resounding positive vote means that Huu-ay-aht and Steelhead LNG will move forward with a co-management relationship to develop the proposed facility on Huu-ay-aht owned land in their h?ahuuli (traditional territory), on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The Sarita LNG facility is in the preliminary engineering and conceptual design stage.