Heavy machinery is muddying the waters of the Peace River and trees are being felled in preparation for construction of B.C.’s controversial Site C dam, but First Nations and area residents believe the $9-billion dam can still be stopped in its tracks.
The hydroelectric megaproject will wipe out prime farmland and flood 107 kilometres of river valley bottom and, at a rally outside Victoria Courthouse Wednesday, George Desjarlais, a West Moberly First Nation elder, said the court challenges will continue and the battle has only just begun.
“We don’t know how to quit, we don’t back away, we don’t stop, we do not give up,” he said to cheers and drumming from the crowd of about 200 people.
In addition to an application by West Moberly and Prophet Lake First Nations, asking the B.C. Supreme Court to quash construction permits, First Nations are appealing the granting of provincial and federal environmental assessment certificates, arguing the decisions infringe on treaty rights.
A decision on the West Moberly and Prophet Lake application is likely to take several weeks, said lawyer Matthew Nefstead.