ST. ANDREWS, New Brunswick – Canadians just want those “developers from away” to be a little more neighborly and listen to their concerns about plans to build liquefied natural gas terminals in Passamaquoddy Bay.

A portion of the bay is in their backyard.

They came close to talking earlier this year, but scheduling problems and safety issues kept two of the developers away. A third developer had not yet announced plans to build.

When none of the developers appeared, the information session became an anti-LNG bash.

But the developers say they are willing to talk.

There are three developers – the Oklahoma-based Quoddy Bay LLC, the Washington, D.C.-based Downeast LNG, and the Washington County, Maine-based St. Croix Development – that hope to site multimillion-dollar LNG facilities just across the bay from St. Andrews, Deer Island and Bayside. Ships heading to the terminals will pass all three communities.

Founded by the United Empire Loyalists in 1783, St. Andrews by the Sea is rich in history, architecture, people, scenery and activities such as whale watching.

This resort community with its five-star hotels and restaurants and Mercedes Benz clientele is a treasure-trove of activity from the touch pool at the Huntsman Marine Aquarium to its lighthouses and islands.

The downtown is made up of boutiques and fine restaurants.

LNG opponent Art Mackay said recently that St. Andrews was known as “Bar Harbor North.” He said he doubted that a developer would even try to site a terminal in that Maine community.

In recent months, St. Andrews residents have been unimpressed with efforts by U.S. developers to site LNG terminals in Passamaquoddy Bay. The proposed site in Robbinston, Maine, is within site of wealthy estates and the downtown. The prospect of LNG tankers navigating the treacherous Canadian waters leading to all three terminals has stirred outrage in this usually peaceful community.

The federal Liberal government has been under growing pressure to say it will not allow LNG tankers through the Canadian passage leading to Passamaquoddy Bay, but a recent no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Paul Martin’s government appears to have left everything in limbo until the election in January.

Christopher Leavitt, who owns a whale-watching business, said he’s concerned about increased ship traffic and how it would affect not only his business, but also the variety of whales that call the bay home all summer. This past summer his clients were treated to sightings of finbacks, minkes and humpback whales.

Another tour boat operator, Chuck Schom, also is concerned. “We were out off Wolves Banks near Grand Manan Channel. One of the … oil tankers [going into a different port] was coming, and we were with a humpback whale that was playing near the surface. I put a call on Channel 16 to them when they were about five minutes away and said, ‘Hey, we got a humpback whale here, and it’s right in your path, and we’re the small boat.’ They altered their course to go around the area. I just can’t see an LNG tanker with its security force altering its course for eight people and a humpback whale,” he said.

Store owner Alanna Baird worries about the terminals affecting tourism. “I don’t want to see any of it,” she said. “There’s a lot of anxiety. People are not at all happy.”

Restaurant owner Pam Shaw said she believes a lot is at stake. “People come here to relax. They don’t come here to see all of that,” she said of the terminals.

Sheila Simpson, who has owned her gift shop since 1977, fears for her livelihood. “What would happen to this community with the sort of things they’ve projected if the LNG goes through in Passamaquoddy Bay?” she asked.

Elaine Wilson, who owns Elaine’s Chowder House, said she fears an LNG terminal is only the beginning. “I see the beginning of the end if an LNG terminal goes in there,” she said, adding, “It is going to become a complete industrial area. Cranes, booms, constant noise, constant light, and it’s going to change the entire nature of this region.”