With LNG Canada given the go-ahead for its liquified natural gas (LNG) project including the Kitimat, BC terminal, the LNG industry started planning for future success. Members of the international LNG-related industry are forming a publicity group to improve the image of LNG beyond the LNG Canada project.
Positive examples of such efforts are already being put forth in media coverage of LNG Canada’s partnership with Native people. Until an initial information meeting in mid-January in Calgary, additional specifics do not seem to be available, but participants should already be quite aware of the challenging terrain in which they work.
Publicizing compelling narratives
In a statement on JWN Energy’s website, CEO of JWN Energy Bill Whitelaw discussed an initial alliance between Resource Works Society, the Canadian Society for Unconventional Resources (CSUR) and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI). Whitelaw calls for a “rejuvenation of the Canadian natural gas sector” which he expects will require the related energy sectors to work together with a much more unified approach than in the past.
According to the statement, working together effectively will allow participants to share “compelling narratives” that communicate with a diverse yet unified voice. To find the “right alignment between key organizations” an initial meeting will be held in Calgary on January 15 to judge actual interest. Perhaps this meeting will also be an opportunity to soft-launch the new organization in whatever form it takes. At the moment it seems to be in heads-up mode, setting the stage without giving too much away.
The anti-fracking movement
Opposition continues to be voiced against the LNG Canada project in British Colombia and will likely continue through the project’s lifetime. The Kitimat port most recently received attention from protest events. But individual actions are part of a larger framework of perspectives and activities activists use to focus attention on their perspectives.
This approach is how environmental activists working against LNG Canada and many similar projects in multiple nations have found some success. In that sense, anti-fracking activists are often winning the battle for compelling narratives while losing their attempts to block such projects. But activists are well aware that they are fighting for a narrative that gets stronger over time. And, for activists, the fight against a particular fracking project is a fight against fracking worldwide and is, ultimately, a fight against environmental destruction as a whole.
Many areas of overlap and membership exist between environmental groups and indigenous peoples in Canada from the environment to broader issues of social justice and sustainable societies. When these forces combine, along with their many supporters, extremely effective protests can result which draw on creative responses and deeply held beliefs to create those “compelling narratives” that can win the day.
Learning from Standing Rock
Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, especially those at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in the Dakotas, remain an ongoing operation and are indicative of what LNG Canada can continue to expect at every step of the way. Tactics in such protests range from highly visual statements to outright sabotage of operations. They sometimes combine an emphasis on sending a message over making specific gains but that is the power of such an approach in forming narratives.
The possibility of Standing Rock-style barricades is already emerging with actual barricades related to LNG Canada. The Unist’ot’en clan, for example, are focused on fighting against pipeline projects in a struggle over land rights. In their goal to control their own narratives, they are building encampments rather than blockades and featuring their healing and community-building power.
While there are many forces aligned against LNG Canada, especially over environmental issues, Indigenous communities hold a special place in the narrative. Their leadership in any particular cause opens a wide range of references to historical injustice that give their perspectives extra weight in the public eye. That is why recent headlines about LNG Canada’s work reaching out to and involving Native peoples seems particularly timely though it has been a long-term effort.
The publicity battle
When a publicist tells you the company for which he or she works is planning a campaign, never forget that it has already begun and that you are now part of it. The subdued announcement of a publicity coalition, of sorts, to build support for LNG operations that will kick off with an informational meeting seems a bit downplayed. After all, the plan is to build a “next-generation coalition” in order to “ensure this new LNG economy doesn’t fall prey to the well-organized external forces capable of crippling a sector that is unprepared to coordinate a connected campaign on many fronts.”
This coalition, intended to seize the day with compelling narratives will be in a struggle with other coalitions with similar agendas and conflicting goals. Creating the stories through which each individual views and interprets news and opinions related to LNG will make a big difference in how news is received. At the end of the day, whether it is called fracking or the LNG tide is a big part of the battle.
(Featured image by DepositPhotos)