Many BC voters want review of the Site C dam project: poll
Posted November 16, 2016 10:42 am.
Last Updated November 16, 2016 10:46 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A vast majority of British Columbians want the provincial government to stop construction of the Site C dam in the Peace Region and to look at alternatives according to a new poll.
The folks over at Insights West are behind the poll and found most people in the province want another look at the Site C dam project, including a lot of BC Liberal voters. In total, 73 per cent of those who responded want a pause in the project to look over the budget and to see if there are any ways around it. And 63 per cent of BC Liberal voters want another look.
Pollster Mario Canseco says the BC Hydro projection that the province won’t need new power until 2028 has a lot of people asking questions. “There are a lot of people that don’t feel we should be going to the specific point of no return that the BC government has been talking about because they don’t seem to see the need for something like this and they seem to be more willing to accept other avenues to create more power.”
If demand for more power increases in the future, nine-in-10 British Columbians support investing in energy efficiency measures and adding more wind, solar and geothermal power to the grid as needed. While just over one-third admit they’re in favour of building large hydro dams.
Construction on the $8.8 billion project started last year and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
The poll was commissioned by the group DeSmog Canada.
