On September 22, the District of Squamish voted to reject a $142 million community enhancement payment agreement proposed by Woodfibre LNG over ten years. The deal included direct community payments and a revitalized tax exemption, but council members were concerned about the lack of inflation indexing for payments and potential increased risk for the district. Councillors who opposed the agreement argued it would set an unfavorable precedent for future taxation structures in similar cases.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 22, the District of Squamish rejected a $142M deal proposed by Woodfibre LNG, which would have provided community benefits over ten years. During a special business meeting, council members voted against the Community Enhancement Payment Agreement (CEPA) and Revitalized Tax Exemption (RTE). If approved, the agreement would have allowed for $117 million in direct payments to be used for infrastructure upgrades such as wastewater systems, stormwater repairs, flood protection, recreation investments, transportation improvements, and climate adaptation. Additionally, Woodfibre LNG was expected to contribute up to $25M, capped at $2.5 million annually plus inflation through the RTE. Without this deal in place, the district will continue relying on regular property taxation from the only Class 4 Major Industry within its jurisdiction.
Written for “Squamish Rejects LNG Deal” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
District of Squamish rejects $142M Woodfibre LNG deal
Woodfibre LNG proposed a contribution of at least $142 million over 10 years to the community
The District of Squamish has rejected a deal that would have seen the operators of the Woodfibre LNG project contribute $142 million over 10 years.
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operators → reject → years
During a special business meeting on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. PT, council voted on the proposed community enhancement payment agreement (CEPA) and revitalized tax exemption (RTE) for Woodfibre LNG (WLNG).
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council → vote → LNG
If approved, the agreement would have commenced in 2027.
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agreement → approve → 2027
Without the agreement in place, the district says it would continue to rely on regular property taxation on the WLNG property.
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it → say → property
The use of the funds would have been subject to council approval, and $117 million would have been used for direct community payments — for wastewater, stormwater system repair and replacements, flood protection, recreation investments, transportation upgrades and climate adaptation and mitigation.
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million → use → wastewater
Part of the deal would have been for WLNG to pay $25 million, capped at $2.5 million per year plus inflation, through the RTE.
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WLNG → pay → RTE
The agreement would have resulted in the resolution of three existing lawsuits against the district, filed by WLNG in relation to taxation in 2025 and 2026, among other matters.
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agreement → result → matters
Coun. Jenna Stoner put forward a motion to decline the agreement.
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Stoner → put → agreement
"I still don't think the deal is quite where I want it to be, and I don't think it's a good enough deal for our community," Stoner said.
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Stoner → think → community
She said the CEPA contributions would not be indexed to inflation, and the overall deal put the district at greater risk and liability.
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deal → say → risk
"We know that our costs are only escalating over the next 10 years, and not having those core payments of the Community Enhancement Payments indexed to inflation makes this really challenging at the same time," Stoner said.
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Stoner → know → time
Coun. Lauren Greenlaw seconded the motion, and said instead of sticking with the more typical taxation structure, the district was "losing some of our protection" with the CEPA and RTE agreements.
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district → second → agreements
Greenlaw said accepting the agreement would set a precedent for other communities who have LNG facilities planned, and also mentioned the CEPA payments were not subject to inflation.
"We should keep it simple and stick with tax legislation," Greenlaw said.
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Greenlaw → say → legislation
Mayor Armand Hurford and councillors Andrew Hamilton and Chris Pettingill also supported the motion to deny the deal.
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Hurford → support → deal
"It's been clear that this isn't enough for a community, and they'd like to have more control and more visibility into each step of the process," Hurford said.
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Hurford → like → process
French said it was not an easy decision for him, after hearing from community members that did not think it was a good deal.
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it → say → members
"The question still remains, how much should Woodfibre LNG pay in taxes?
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LNG → remain → taxes
I believe it’s the amount set out in the mindfully negotiated agreement that we had in front of us," French said.
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French → believe → us
The motion to decline the 10-year deal was passed in a 5-2 vote.
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motion → decline → vote
Hurford said that this does not stop future councils from entering into a future deal with WLNG.
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this → say → WLNG
"Maybe that’s out there somewhere," Hurford said.
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Hurford → ’ → ?
Advocate relieved
Tracey Saxby, the co-founder of My Sea to Sky, an environmental advocacy group in Squamish that works to defend the Howe Sound, said she is feeling relieved.
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she → relieve → Sound
“This was a terrible tax deal that Woodfibre LNG was offering our community, and I'm feeling very grateful to council for standing up for residents and for ensuring that we're going to get a better deal than what was on the table,” Saxby said.
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Saxby → offer → table
She questioned how much Woodfibre LNG should be paying in taxes, and said the proposed deal was not enough.
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deal → question → taxes
Saxby argues the proposed CEPA and RTE agreements would have constituted a "below average tax rate" for communities that have major industries across B.C.
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that → argue → B.C.
The Aporia
