Proposed Site C Dam hearings start Monday
Posted December 8, 2013 9:43 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
FORT ST. JOHN (NEWS1130) – Review hearings into BC Hydro’s proposed Site C Dam begin in Fort St. John on Monday.
Local First Nations will be using the proceedings to say the project is a bad idea.
Tribal chief Liz Logan, who represents the Treaty 8 First Nations of Prophet River, Halfway River, Salteaux, Doig River, and West Moberly, says the project means the loss of habitat for deer and elk and the loss of native heritage sites.
And above all she feels the entire region is already under siege, by the oil, gas, and soon LNG industries.
“Who is looking at the big picture, the cumulative effects and impacts of all of this resource development up here? Nobody, other than the people who live on the land,” she stresses.
She says while they are not anti-business, she says it’s becoming increasingly difficult for them to hunt, fish, trap and exercise their way of life.
“We’re not opposed to development. But we have to change the way we do business. I don’t want to leave a legacy for my grandchildren’s children, who may say ‘Why didn’t my grandma do everything she could to protect a small piece of this land?'”
About 5,500 hectares would be flooded by the dam, 3,400 hectares of which is agricultural. The dam would flood about 85 kilometres of the Peace River plus 10 kilometres of the Moberly River and 14 kilometres of the Halfway River.
First Nations groups will be beating drums and performing a smudge ceremony as the hearings get underway. They will be staging a protest on Wednesday.
