Where are the benefits Woodfibre LNG promised?

What is happening?

Woodfibre LNG is offering a municipal tax agreement of $142 million over ten years ($14.2 million per year on average).

This is ten million dollars less per year than the average tax rate for communities with major industry across BC. This will not increase with inflation or if Woodfibre LNG doubles or triples in size.

Do you get a deal on your taxes? No! Why should Woodfibre LNG?

🔥Send a letter to council

Tell council they have your support to reject Woodfibre LNG's terrible tax deal. We put together example speaking points to help you personalize your letter.

Example speaking points

• Share if you own a home and/or business.
• Why would we lock in a deal that prevents future benefit if Woodfibre LNG expands?
• Why would we lock in a deal that shifts the tax burden to home owners and business owners?
• Where are the economic benefits that Woodfibre LNG promised?
• Squamish is one of the fastest growing populations in Canada, and we need tax revenue so we can invest in critical infrastructure and services including roads, drinking water, waste management, parks and recreation, fire and emergency services, and more.
• The District's 2026-2035 Financial Plan identifies several pressures on municipal finances, including: aging infrastructure, inflation and higher costs, higher RCMP costs, transit expansion, and climate preparedness.
• What infrastructure and services do you rely on and want the District to invest in?
• How has Woodfibre LNG impacted you and your family? Our community is dealing with massive noise and disruption during construction, increased housing prices, more crime and traffic accidents, environmental destruction and pollution. Our community will be breathing in the harmful pollution from Woodfibre LNG's facility and the flarestack, and FortisBC's gas-powered compressor station.
• Woodfibre LNG's lawsuits are a clear intimidation tactic to try to bully the District and avoid paying its fair share in taxes.
• Tell council they have your support to reject Woodfibre LNG's terrible tax deal.

🔥Show council they have your support

WHEN: 5:30pm to 8pm, Tuesday September 22, 2026

WHERE: Squamish Municipal Hall
37955 2nd Ave, Squamish, BC

ITINERARY:

5:30pm | Gather for a quick photo action outside Squamish Municipal Hall.

6pm till ~8pm | Attend the council meeting and hold a sign inside council chambers.

How much should Woodfibre LNG pay in taxes?

Municipal tax rates are determined by council every year based on community needs and can be adjusted to offset depreciation. Council identifies how much revenue is needed to pay for critical services and sets the tax rates for residential, commercial, utilities, farms, managed forests, supportive housing, light industry, and major industry.

For 2026, the District of Squamish set the major industry tax rate at $125 per $1,000 of assessed value, which generated $8 million in taxes from Woodfibre LNG during construction.

The average tax rate for B.C. communities with major industry in 2026 was $40.57 per $1,000 of assessed value (ranging from $3.44 to $125.24). How did we calculate this? See Assessed Values - Schedule 701 to identify which communities have an assessed value for Major Industry in 2026, and average the Major Industry tax rate listed in Tax Rates - Schedule 702 for those communities.

We don't know what Woodfibre LNG's assessed value will be, but District staff conservatively estimate $400–600 million. See FAQ #21.

Here is how much tax revenue could be generated from Woodfibre LNG every year:

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What is the tax rate in other B.C. municipalities?

The tax rate for B.C. communities with major industry in 2026 ranged from $3.44 to $125.24 per $1,000 of assessed value (average of $40.57 per $1,000 of assessed value).

Before it closed in 2006, the Woodfibre pulp mill in Squamish paid a tax rate of $58.86106 per $1,000 of assessed value. If Woodfibre LNG paid a similar tax rate, it would contribute $24 to $36 million in taxes every year. See Tax Rates - Schedule 702 for 2006.

Before it closed in 2021, the pulp mill in Powell River paid a tax rate of $55.5017 per $1,000 of assessed value. See Tax Rates - Schedule 702 for 2021.

So you want a new Rec Centre...

Squamish has a lot of aging infrastructure that has not kept pace with population growth. For example, we need a new Recreation Centre, which we estimate will cost at least $250 million based on one NHL-sized rink ($65 million) and an aquatic centre ($185 million) with parking infrastructure.

To correct online misinformation, no, Woodfibre LNG never offered to pay for a new Recreation Centre. This is the deal that is on the table: $142 million over ten years. It's an improvement from the $2–3 million tax deal Woodfibre LNG offered in 2014, but it's still not a fair or reasonable tax rate.

One LNG carrier could earn $37–93 million

Woodfibre LNG is owned by Sukanto Tanoto, a notorious billionaire from Indonesia whose companies have been linked to tax evasion and profit shifting. Corporate ownership is structured so that Woodfibre LNG may never declare a profit in Canada—instead, profits will likely flow offshore to Singapore and/or offshore tax havens to avoid taxes. LEARN MORE

Woodfibre LNG currently plans to export one LNG carrier per week. Based on the current price of LNG in Asia ($25 per million Btu), one LNG carrier could earn $93 million, every week. Even if the price drops back down to $10 per million Btu, one LNG carrier could earn $37 million, every week. If Woodfibre LNG doubles or triples in size, that is two or three LNG carriers every week. Yet Woodfibre LNG is offering a measly $14.2 million to our community for an entire year? This is a terrible tax deal.

Timeline of the tax negotiations with Woodfibre LNG

2014 | Woodfibre LNG proposed a $2 million tax agreement that would be capped at $3 million with inflation during operations. My Sea to Sky successfully advocated for council not to accept this unfair tax deal. LEARN MORE

July 2015 | BC Assessment Authority estimated Woodfibre LNG could generate $5–7 million in municipal tax revenue per year during operations. LEARN MORE

October 2015 | Woodfibre LNG was approved by the provincial government. According to the Reason for Ministers' Decision, Woodfibre LNG told the province it would generate $21 million in municipal taxes per year during operations. LEARN MORE

2022 | My Sea to Sky exposed that Woodfibre LNG covertly funded Squamish Forward, a local group led by Evan Drygas and Gord Addison, which started a petition to stop the District from borrowing money it needed to upgrade critical infrastructure to supply Squamish with clean drinking water and to manage our wastewater. This stunt cost Squamish taxpayers half a million dollars.

Woodfibre LNG actively undermined trust in local government to influence voters in the leadup to the election, in the hopes that a pro-LNG council would give them a sweetheart deal on taxes. LEARN MORE

2023 | Woodfibre LNG begins construction.

2024 | District of Squamish sets the tax rate for Major Industry to $125 per $1,000 of assessed value.

2025 | Woodfibre LNG pays $2.2 million in municipal taxes during construction.

June 2025 | Woodfibre LNG contests the tax rate in court. LEARN MORE | READ THE COURT DOCUMENTS

November 2025 | Woodfibre LNG files a second lawsuit. LEARN MORE

2026 | Woodfibre LNG pays $8 million in municipal taxes during construction.

June 2026 | Woodfibre LNG files a third lawsuit. LEARN MORE

September 2026 | Woodfibre LNG offers $14.2 million in municipal taxes per year during operations. LEARN MORE

What are the risks?

Woodfibre LNG's lawsuits

Woodfibre LNG's lawsuits are a clear intimidation tactic to try to bully the District and avoid paying its fair share in taxes. If the terrible tax deal is approved, Woodfibre LNG will drop its lawsuits.

If council decides not to accept the terrible tax deal, Woodfibre LNG will proceed with its lawsuits. However, local governments have broad authority to set property tax rates for each property class via an annual tax bylaw. Does their lawsuit have any merit? Woodfibre LNG is claiming that paying CAD$1.8 million dollars in municipal taxes during construction would make this US$8.8 billion dollar project unsustainable. To put this in perspective, Woodfibre LNG is spending US$6 million a day (~$8.8 billion over 4 years) to construct the facility. READ THE COURT DOCUMENTS

Council needs to know that they have your support to stand up to Woodfibre LNG, fight them in court, and make Woodfibre LNG pay their fair share in taxes.

Sweetheart tax deal from the next council

If council says no to the tax deal, the next council will be responsible for setting the major industry tax rate every year. Depending on who is elected on October 17, the next council could choose to give Woodfibre LNG a sweetheart tax deal.

For example, the tax rate for major industry in Kitimat is set to $32.41675 per $1,000 of assessed value, which should generate $47.8 million per year for that community. Instead, the pro-LNG council in Kitimat signed a ten-year tax agreement with LNG Canada for $24.25 million over five years of construction from 2019–2023 (= $4.85 million per year average) and $9.7 million per year for the first five years of operations from 2024–2028, adjusted by the Consumer Price Index. But LNG Canada isn't even paying that because the Federal government used your tax dollars to give LNG Canada a ~$16-20 million subsidy on municipal taxes for Kitimat. LEARN MORE