Parties cooperate in court
Midway transformer fire
Woman not guilty after rant
Premier stands by pick
Canada's most-wanted list
Sask. will still get rebates
Santos ends comeback bid
Douglas C-54 plane crashes
Trump's 'eyes and ears'
Phish fans enter the Sphere
CN Rail profits fall 
Tesla's Q1 income tumbles
Iginla off to Europe
Rockets ink prospect
Leafs even series
Alleged Tupac killer in court
Lawsuit accuses Megan
Bam Margera’s tour axed
Fewer British Columbians are supportive of the provincial government’s push for liquefied natural gas, a new Insights West poll has found.
In the online survey, 43 per cent of British Columbians say they support the provincial government’s intention to expand the development and export of LNG, while 41 per cent are opposed.
This is a significant change from numbers registered in August 2013, when 50 per cent of residents welcomed the proclaimed LNG expansion and only 32 per cent were against.
“The public’s distaste towards fracking is playing a role in perceptions of the provincial government’s actions on the LNG file,” said Insights West vice-president Mario Canseco. “However, fewer British Columbians in 2016 believe that the LNG industry will be auspicious for every resident of the province.”
The drop in support for LNG expansion is accompanied by hardened views on hydraulic fracturing or fracking —the procedure by which water and chemicals are injected into the ground to fracture shale rock and extract natural gas.
Three-in-five British Columbians (62 per cent) say they are familiar with fracking. However, only 23 per cent support it, while 61 per cent are opposed – up 14 per cent since August 2013.
When asked about the benefits of fracking, 54 per cent say it will lead to more jobs. The same number say LNG is more environmentally friendly than coal or other fuels. While 51 per cent think fracking will lead to more foreign investment in the province, only 41 per cent believe it will lower natural gas prices by increasing supply.
More than three-in-five British Columbians are concerned about specific effects of fracking, including the perception of containment ponds being an environmental hazard (68 per cent), impact on and alteration of the landscape (62 per cent), and contamination of the water supply (62 per cent). More than half are also worried about fracking triggering earthquakes (57 per cent), causing increased health problems (53 per cent) and leading to higher carbon emissions (51 per cent).
