Speaking Points to Site C Dam Proposal

Speaking Points to Site C Dam Proposal

Honourable Mayor and Council, I believe you already have the Mayor of Hudson's Hope, Mayor Johansson's package of information behind her request for a 1 year delay in the construction of the Site C Dam.

To that we would like to add some of the economic costs it would have on the residents of BC:

1. Lost Farmland, Changes to the ALR – out of the 5340 hectares affected, the majority is prime farmland. This is a huge cost to us in terms of food security.
2. Loss of Wildlife Habitat – migratory paths of fish would be damaged leading to loss and disappearance of some species; on land there would be adverse effects on birds, local vegetation and 23 protected wildlife species
3. Landslides and Shrinking Reservoirs - loss of efficacy over time from silting up and an increasing number of landslides
4. Increasing Seismic Activity – this is already an issue with the fracking up north, although this report was available, it was not mentioned in the review process. Why one must ask?
5. Pressuring of Tectonic Plate – the sheer weight of the dam reservoir could trigger more quakes. Again, at what cost?
6. 1st Nations Treaty 8 Land – 78 FN heritage sites would be flooded. How would you feel if your loved ones burial grounds were to be submerged? There is a moral cost to this.
7. Legal Challenges – there are currently 6 legal challenges both by FN and farmers, litigation costs are huge

There are solutions for our energy. There are 10 – 12 alternative renewable energy projects that do not bury arable land, that do not affect FN land, but which do provide 8x the number of jobs.