Brazil has flooded large swaths of the Amazon for hydro dams, despite opposition from Indigenous Peoples, environmentalists and others. The country gets 70 per cent of its electricity from hydropower. Brazil’s government had plans to expand development, opening half the Amazon basin to hydro. But a surprising announcement could halt that.
There is no question that the new BC government’s decision to proceed with the Site C dam was a very difficult one. The previous government left them with a poison pill. With $2 billion already spent, the Horgan government faced a no-win choice, with substantial political and economic costs for either terminating or proceeding with what is one of the largest and most expensive capital projects in BC history. I don’t envy them.
But count me among those who believe the wrong decision was made.
(Fort St. John, B.C., Treaty 8 Territory, Jan 16, 2018) – The West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations have filed notices of civil action alleging that the Site C hydroelectric project, together with the two previous dams on the Peace River, unjustifiably infringes their constitutional rights under Treaty 8, stating:
It has been a month now since the BC government announced that Site C would continue. The accounting rationale used by Premier Horgan makes absolutely no sense in light of the findings from the recent BCUC review, and the much greater financial woes of continuing the project.
Premier Horgan announced in December that his government would proceed with the Site C dam, increasing its budget by more than 2 billion dollars despite having opposed it before.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan is heading off on a trade mission to Asia later this month, hoping to continue with the former BC Liberal government's quest to secure a liquefied natural gas industry for his province.
Just weeks ago, his government tried to bury the latest unhappy news about progress on the province's efforts to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – a task that is incompatible with the development of LNG.
Two anti-pipeline protesters who were arrested after police forced their way into a camper on Burnaby Mountain Wednesday evening are facing obstruction charges.
The RCMP said the First Nations women locked themselves inside while officers were trying to execute a warrant at the camper, which is parked at the protest site across the street from Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline terminal.
Videos captured by activists depict a chaotic scene, with onlookers screaming as a large group of Mounties surround the camper and use a battering ram to break open the door.
