BC’s premier and energy minister visited Prince George’s renewable diesel refinery on Tuesday, Jan. 14 to discuss issues with subsidies offered to American producers.
In separate interviews with The Citizen prior to the kickoff of the 2024 BC Natural Resources Forum, both Premier David Eby and Energy Minister Adrian Dix said they are committed to finding a solution to a “double-dipping” issue identified by both Prince George Mackenzie Conservative MLA Kiel Giddens and Tidewater Renewables.
In December 2024, Giddens announced he would be putting forward a private member’s bill that would reduce subsidies BC provides to foreign producers of renewable diesel by the same amount as subsidies they receive in other countries.
Tidewater CEO Jeremy Baines told The Citizen that same month that the US companies receiving subsidies in both countries is preventing his company from competing. Unless the situation is dealt with, he said their Prince George refinery would have to close by March.
“I met with the company directly to provide my assurance to them that would find a path forward and Minister Dix and his team have been reaching out and working with the company,” Eby said. “It was a very productive discussion and I’m very hopeful we’ll be able to find a path forward.
Dix said that both the province and people in Prince George have invested a lot in the refinery. The refinery was given financial support from the provinces through the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).
The energy minister went on to said he learned a lesson during the COVID-19 pandemic when BC was down to just a week’s supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) when purchased supply from the United States was denied entry into Canada.
“You have to have domestic capacity, too,” Dix said. “You can’t allow short-term considerations to do that, so we’re working with Tidewater.”
Both the premier and minister took aim at Giddens’ remarks, saying that the BC Conservatives promised in the last election campaign to abolish the LCFS that enabled the refinery to be built in the first place.
“I’m glad to see he’s supportive of it now and I look forward to his support when we bring forward our solution for it,” Eby said.
Neither provided specifics when asked if their solution would be brought forward before the March deadline identified by Tidewater.
Watch for more coverage from The Citizen’s interviews with Premier David Eby and Energy Minister Adrian Dix along with coverage of the 2025 BC Natural Resources Forum throughout the week.
