November 20, 2025
RED FM News Desk
Legislation to fast-track the construction of the North Coast Transmission Line (NCTL), known as Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, passed its third reading in the BC Legislature last evening.
Speaker Raj Chouhan broke a tie in the B.C. legislature on Wednesday evening on the major energy bill, with the government again pushing through its agenda without the support of the NDP’s sometime partner, the B.C. Greens.
The BC NDP stated that Bill 31 achieved passage despite attempts by the official opposition—the BC Conservatives—to block the project. The BC NDP highlighted that the bill allows First Nations partners to have an equity stake and accelerates the project, putting it on track to begin construction in the summer of 2026.
The BC Greens (who have an agreement to align with the NDP on key shared issues) also voted against the bill. BC Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote criticized the project, saying the NCTL is being advanced primarily as a “public subsidy” for LNG projects, rather than as a long-term investment in B.C.’s clean energy future.
The North Coast Transmission Line will bring electricity to the Northwest, supporting projects that will generate 10,000 new jobs and $10 billion in GDP, such as:
Red Chris Mine expansion: 500 permanent jobs
Cedar LNG: 500 jobs during construction, 100 permanent jobs
Ksi Lisims LNG: 800 jobs during construction, 250 permanent jobs
Eskay Creek: 800 construction jobs, 400 permanent jobs
Galore Creek: 4,500 construction jobs, 1,200 permanent jobs
Adrian Dix, BC NDP minister of energy and climate solutions said “The North Coast Transmission Line is a nation-building project that is urgently needed to deliver clean energy to unlock 10,000 jobs as part of the Look West jobs strategy. The BC Conservatives have tried and failed to block this essential component of our jobs plan. We’re going to get this built as fast as possible to accelerate other projects and create thousands of good-paying jobs for British Columbians.”
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