As the fog lifted on the Peace River Monday morning, it revealed this clearcut island (Donald Hoffmann) BC Hydro’s clearcut logging this past weekend at the location of the proposed Site C Dam appears to have broken a promise about care for active eagles’ nests and may have lacked federal permits,
Continue readingTag: Hydropower
The Common Sense Canadian: UBCM calls for delay to Site C construction as clearcutting set to begin
Location of proposed Site C Dam – slated for imminent clearcutting (photo: Damien Gillis) The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) passed several resolutions at its annual gathering this week calling on BC Hydro and the BC government to stand down on construction of the controversial $9 Billion Site C Dam,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: BC Hydro rushes to cut down eagles’ nests for Site C Dam, First Nations seek injunction
Treaty 8 First Nations are seeking an injunction as BC Hydro rushes to cut down a number of Bald Eagles’ nests along the Peace River, starting next month, for Site C Dam. The news came by way of a 30-day notice issued to Treaty 8 representatives on June 30 (read here).
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Media let Liberals get away with murder on IPPs, now LNG
Construction of a private power project on the Ashlu River (Photo: Range Life) A flash of anger came over me when Ian Jessup of CFAX 1070, Victoria, asked me to come on his show and talk about so-called independent power producers (IPPs), euphemistically referred known as “run of river”. No, I
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Cowboys and Indians keep gaining powerful allies in Site C Dam battle
Battle lines are being drawn and sides taken in what is shaping up to be an epic fight over the the $9 Billion proposed Site C Dam. On one side is the “Cowboy and Indian” alliance, which continues gathering strength against the project, said chiefs and landowners at a recent press conference in Vancouver. The
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Why British Columbians should get a say on $9 Billion Site C Dam
Part of the 80 km stretch of the Peace Valley that would be flooded by Site C Dam (Photo: Garth Lenz) Reprinted from the ECOreport. Such large segments of the province’s population have made their opposition to the proposed Site C Dam known, that this has become a defining moment
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Peaceful Paddle lands Site C opponents on terrorist watch list
2012 Paddle for the Peace (Damien Gillis) The following letter was written by the Paddle for the Peace Planning Committee in response to an article in the Toronto Star which stated that events like the upcoming Paddle for the Peace (July 11th) were on terrorist watch lists. Dear Editor, According to the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Halt Site C construction until courts have ruled, First Nations demand
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip is among the First Nations leaders demanding a halt to Site C construction (D. Gillis) BC Hydro is intent on bulldozing ahead with Site C Dam construction in the coming weeks, despite seven different federal and provincial court cases currently in progress over the $9 Billion proposed project. That attitude
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair’s Modest Proposal: Scrap environmental assessments
The 3-member NEB Joint Review Panel for the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline (Damien Gillis) Do you enjoy being a raw hypocrite? Well, if you’re a taxpayer in Canada that’s what you are because you support raw hypocrisy every day in the various hearings on environmental matters that take place.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Justice for the Peace: Site C Dam goes to court
While the BC Liberal government and BC Hydro are vowing to break ground on the controversial $9 Billion Site C Dam this summer, the projects faces numerous legal challenges – one of which got a boost from the federal court recently. The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis discussed the issues with Ian
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Site C Dam: Crown strikes out with attempt to gut First Nation’s Judicial Review
Location of proposed Site C Dam (photo: Damien Gillis) The federal government struck out in court Friday in its attempt to gut key passages of the Doig River First Nation’s Judicial Review into the environmental certificate for Site C Dam. After 3 hours of arguments on the crown’s motion to
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: New interactive map reveals largest farmland exclusion in ALR history for Site C Dam
Screen capture from www.arcgis.com “On April 8, 2015, with the stroke of a pen, the BC Government made the largest exclusion of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve in BC history,” said Hudson’s Hope Mayor Gwen Johansson, upon the release of a new interactive map which visualizes the enormous loss. “Without Agricultural Land
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Landowners launch Site C Dam court challenge, First Nations next
On Monday, a group of landowners and farmers from BC’s Peace River Valley launched the first of seven legal challenges that threaten to derail the government’s $9 Billion planned Site C Dam. This challenge is rooted in the government’s decision to ignore key concerns raised by the Joint Review Panel for
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Lawyer warns LNG industry: Don’t count on power from Site C dam
Lawyer Rob Botterell represents First Nations and landowners in the Peace Valley region The following is an open letter sent by lawyer Rob Botterell to the BC LNG Alliance, key BC Liberal ministers, and Treaty 8 First Nations. Site C Dam is being looked to as a possible source for the additional power
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Shocking critique from Site C Panel Chair should have govt pulling plug
Site C Joint Review Panel, with Chair Harry Swain seated in middle (250 News) In a highly unorthodox move for a person in his position, the chair of the Joint Review Panel for Site C Dam has come out with harsh words for the $9 Billion project and the BC government’s hurry to
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Landmark Treaty 8 lawsuit challenges Site C Dam, LNG
A sweeping lawsuit filed this week by the Blueberry River First Nations from northeast BC threatens the province’s resource agenda – including the proposed Site C Dam and shale gas and LNG development. As a party to Treaty 8, the First Nation was guaranteed the right to continue practicing its traditional way of
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Federal Court denies BC Hydro’s request to hurry up Site C challenge
Peace Valley ranchers Ken and Arlene Boon are plaintiffs in several Site C Dam challenges (Damien Gillis) A federal court judge has denied BC Hydro’s motion to rush a legal challenge against the crown corporation’s planned Site C Dam project. Hydro sought to expedite the hearing in May in order to keep
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Why BC Hydro always overestimates future power demand: Economist
What BC Hydro says about its own work clearly establishes the forecast as a foundation document for future planning for new generation and distribution investments: Load forecasting is central to BC Hydro’s long-term planning, medium-term investment, and short-term operational and forecasting activities. (1) Because of this importance, the forecast needs
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Why Site C Dam isn’t a done deal
Damien Gillis and Kootenay Co-op Radio’s Keith Wiley discuss the hurdles still facing Site C Dam following the BC Liberal government’s approval of the project before Christmas. From 6 lawsuits to mounting financial challenges, Gillis explains why the $9 Billion-plus project is far from a done deal. First broadcast on
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Site C Dam: Govt ignores own rules, faces multiple lawsuits
Peace Valley ranchers Ken and Arlene Boon are part of several law suits over Site C Dam (Damien Gillis) Even if the BC Liberal government decides today to approve the now $8.5 billion Site C dam, the project still faces some big legal hurdles – based on mistakes the government
Continue reading