LNG Canada Business Rebate Program

The LNG Canada Business Rebate Program, launched in 2023 in partnership with the Kitimat and Terrace Chambers of Commerce, represents a $300,000 investment in supporting the growth and long-term sustainability of local small and medium-sized businesses. Among recent recipients is Kasiks Wilderness Resort, a Kitsumkalum owned business located near the shore of the Skeena River, surrounded by coastal rainforest, and vistas of the snow-capped Coast Mountains.

Community at the Core

Kasiks Wilderness Resort is located about 60 kilometers west of Terrace on Highway 16. The business is owned and operated by the Kitsumkalum Band, one of the original tribes of the Tsimshian Nation. Kitsumkalum acquired the land for the business in 2020 and has since transformed it from an empty contracting yard into a business opportunity and community asset. The initial stages of the Kasiks Wilderness Resort development evolved out of in-depth consultation with the community that saw a strong desire to develop the facility into an economic opportunity for its members, and a way to serve community needs and share Tsimshian culture and stories through tourism, hospitality, and social enterprise.

In 2021, the business opened as a campground, offering travelers along Highway 16 a place to stop between Terrace and Prince Rupert and has since expanded into lodging, dining, cultural tourism and traditional programming.

Supporting A Culturally Significant Business

Kasiks Wilderness Resort needed assistance bridging the gap between growing demand and the logistical challenges of supplying food to a remote location. With the funding the business received through the Business Rebate Program, Kasiks was able to develop an area of the property to combine a covered freezer, storage, and preservation facility. This upgrade not only supports the hospitality function of the business but the broader Kitsumkalum community, allowing Kasiks to better manage its inventory and provides additional business opportunities in tourism through traditional and cultural food demonstrations. This infrastructure upgrade also increases food security for the community by offering adequate, long-term storage for food and ceremonial supplies. This space and storage will also be used by the community to engage in cultural practices; ensuring traditions are passed down through generations, such as the rendering of grease from Oolichan, or eulachon – a small, smelt-like fish – harvested from the Skeena River.

Moving Forward: An Asset for Community

Kasiks Wilderness Resort has provided community members with meaningful employment, extensive training opportunities, and has enabled members of the community to be part of a business driven by community vision and collaboration.

Kasiks hopes to build on their current success with plans for a mobile smokehouse to enhance cultural teaching and food preservation, and a permanent cedar pavilion for events and demonstrations down the road. By supporting cultural and business capacity building initiatives, the LNG Canada Business Rebate Program has helped businesses like Kasiks Wilderness Resort strengthen their unique business model that promotes both economic development and cultural resilience. LNG Canada is proud to support businesses like Kasiks, that are centre in community, growth and collaboration.