The provincial Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has issued a warning letter to Woodfibre LNG over its procurement transparency.
Procurement simply means the process of purchasing goods or services.
An EAO inspection report shows that on Sept. 11, when a compliance officer viewed the publicly available website, www.woodfibrelng.ca, seeking information regarding tenders, procurement requirements and bidding procedures, the officer reports that "no information was found regarding what kinds of business opportunities are currently available in association with the project, nor was there any specific information on what the referenced procurement requirements are. Information regarding tenders and bidding procedures was also absent."
Thus, Woodfibre LNG was non-compliant with Condition 14 "with respect to providing accessible information on tenders, procurement and bidding procedures."
The inspection report, which was finalized on Sept. 18, says that a complaint to the EAO initiated the inspection.
Following the inspection, Woodfibre LNG was issued the warning letter.
"The holder is hereby warned that the project is not compliant with Condition 14 of the Certificate. The maximum penalty for failure to comply with an Environmental Assessment Certificate is $1-millon and, on each subsequent conviction, a fine of not more than $200,000," reads the warning letter.
"The Environmental Assessment Office Compliance and Enforcement Branch will continue to monitor this issue and may follow up with further inspections as required. Future or continuing non-compliance may result in additional enforcement action as warranted."
WLNG working with Nation companies
For its part, Woodfibre LNG said the company is delivering on Environmental Assessment Certificate conditions, "including ensuring that significant business opportunities flow to local Indigenous and Indigenous-affiliated suppliers and contractors."
The company has a procurement process in place with Squamish Nation that has resulted in approximately $250 million in contracts being awarded to member-owned, endorsed or joint businesses to date, according to Sean Beardow, Woodfibre LNG spokesperson.
"Regular discussions take place with the Nation and business community to maximize opportunities through all phases of the project," he added.
Management plans, including the Community Services and Infrastructure Management Plan referenced in the letter from the EAO, are required to be reviewed annually and updated where necessary.
"In this case, Woodfibre LNG will be updating the Community Services and Infrastructure Management Plan to properly reflect the procurement process currently in place with the Squamish Nation," Beardow said.
"Woodfibre LNG remains focused on delivering on its commitments to support Indigenous-owned and endorsed businesses in accordance with economic agreements and processes with the Squamish Nation. The project will continue to prioritize Indigenous-owned and endorsed businesses when awarding contracts."
The Nch’kay Development Corporation’s business registry is open to non-Indigenous businesses. More information about the registry can be found on the Nch’kay website.
A spokesperson for the Nation said that they were unable to verify the total dollar amount of contracts awarded to date to member-owned, endorsed, or joint businesses as that information was not readily available. Further, the spokesperson said that given this was an EAO inspection report—and not a Nation report— they couldn’t comment on its findings either, but they did send a statement on their focus and procurement process with WLNG.
“Squamish Nation’s most pressing focus on the Woodfibre LNG project is monitoring and enforcing environmental compliance with our [Squamish Nation Environmental Assessment Agreement]. We work in collaboration with our co-regulators, and this will always remain our primary objective,” said Sxwixwtn, Wilson Williams, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw spokesperson and council member.
“However, we can confirm we have a procurement process in place with Woodfibre LNG, and Squamish Nation is always striving to maximize education, employment, and business and opportunities for our people, and also for the greater Squamish community.”
