Delay eviction of Site C opponent until power transfer

VICTORIA — When B.C. Hydro expropriated some of the final parcels of land needed for the Site C project late last year, it also granted brief respite to one of the high-profile opponents of the project, Ken Boon and his wife Arlene.

The Boon property on the north bank of the Peace River straddles the right-of-way for the intended relocation of Highway 29, which will eventually be submerged by the waters rising behind the giant hydroelectric dam.

The family farm house is adjacent to one of the planned abutments for a 455-metre long bridge that will be a critical part of an 8.5-kilometre long rerouting of the highway.

Boon, president of the anti-Site C Peace Valley Landowner Association, had speculated that he and his wife would be evicted from their house by the end of 2016.

But apparently somebody at Hydro had second thoughts about triggering the inevitable high-profile media spectacle of a family being evicted from its home over the holiday season.

Meaning there would be no showdown before the provincial election, a window of opportunity Boon himself seized upon.

“On May 9 let’s get rid of the dinosaurs,” he exhorted supporters in a political call to arms that highlighted the NDP promise to submit Site C to a review by the B.C. Utilities Commission. “Obviously we have high hopes they form the next government.”

But when expectations were put on hold by the inconclusive election results, Boon began to hope for a further extension on the eviction notice.

“Here we are, waiting to find out exactly what we do end up with for a government,” he told reporter Matt Preprost of the Alaska Highway News. “It is silly to move us out while so much is still up in the air.”

It would appear that somebody at Hydro reached the same conclusion. Before the month was out, the Boons were granted another extension. “We determined that as part of the ongoing management of our construction schedule, we were able to extend their lease by one month to June 30,” explained Hydro spokesman Dave Conway.

There matters stood until May 30, when the New Democrats and Greens concluded a power-sharing agreement that included a commitment to send Site C to the B.C. Utilities Commission for a rush-job review.

Next day, Horgan quietly sent a letter to Hydro CEO Jessica McDonald — copy to Premier Christy Clark — asking that Site C-related evictions be put on hold pending the outcome of the review.

Back came Clark with a letter of her own, warning that further delays could disrupt the construction schedule and add $600 million to the cost of the project.

Back came Horgan with not one but two letters — one rude, one polite — rebuffing Clark’s attempt to shift the blame to him for any added costs.

Enter Weaver, with a letter of his own calling out Clark. He also disclosed that notwithstanding the “no-surprises” commitment in the power-sharing agreement, the NDP leader had not shared his Site C correspondence with the Greens.

Horgan’s letters seemed “a bit odd,” Weaver told broadcaster Al Ferraby on Victoria radio station CFAX. “They have some communications issues they need to work out.”

Into the midst of this round of recriminations stepped the Hydro CEO and senior staff to brief the legislative press gallery about the evictions and related issues.

“It’s obviously a bit of a difficult time for B.C. Hydro to be stepping forward,” McDonald began Wednesday. “It’s not our intention to become part of the political discussions, but simply to be able to provide some clear information from inside the Site C project team.”

There followed a lengthy explanation for why the June 30 eviction notice must go ahead. Essentially, the Boon home must be relocated, so construction of the replacement road and bridge can be completed, before the river is diverted and the reservoir fills to the point of inundating the existing highway.

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A delayed eviction means delayed construction means delayed relocation means the river diversion will have to be delayed a full year beyond the optimum target date of September 2019. Result: a $630 million wallop in added cost of construction, inflation and interest charges and other penalties.

The explanation was mostly technical and sincere on the face of it. But by sticking to the June 30 schedule for evicting the Boons, Hydro will trigger a showdown over the fate of Site C in the midst of the transition from one government to another.

I came away thinking that a CEO more attuned to political reality would have instructed her staff to find enough leeway in the construction schedule to put off the evictions until the handover of power in the provincial capital.

Then it would be up to the incoming administration, not the outgoing one, to decide whether there should be further delay pending the outcome of the review.

Who could impose such a delay this point? McDonald was asked near the end of the briefing. The government-appointed board of directors or the government itself — or both, she replied.

One or the other should put off the eviction for another month, before the usual suspects start gathering at the Boon family home for the protest encampment showdown of the summer season.